The Walden Project is an outdoor therapy program hailed as “an innovative approach to healthcare delivery”.

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By taking clients outdoors, clinicians access the coolest therapy office in the world, the forest lands of the Oregon Coast. The therapeutic model is adapted, with permission, from the 8-Shields Model for mentoring. The focus is on building connection between clients and nature, their friends, their family and the broader community.

 

Clients develop skills both from traditional mental health practices and practices from indigenous cultures around the world that promote health and happiness. This unique approach combines newer scientific approaches and old-world wisdom that has been proven over time.

 

Walden Project works with youth and families throughout the community, many of whom face barriers to accessing traditional services and lack natural supports in the community. Much of the work takes place at Forest Hill, in conjunction with the Oregon Coast Community Forest Association (OCCFA). The partnership with OCCFA, and so many other community members and organizations, has fostered dramatic results in our clients’ lives.

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