James Nippert started working with adolescents and their families in wilderness therapy in 2004 and has been passionate about wilderness therapy ever since that time. James’ personal approach to therapy focuses on the need for both the adolescent and the family to heal together. James received his Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Appalachian State University and has worked for a number of wilderness therapy and therapeutic boarding schools. James is trained in Emotional focused family therapy, Brainspotting, Truama center Trauma sensitive yoga and has been mentoring new clinicians to become power wilderness therapists in their own right. James is thrilled to bring his talent and love of teens to the Oregon woods with New Vision Wilderness.

In his spare time, James is an avid reader, board gamer, enjoys painting and learning how to perfect gluten-free and keto cooking methods as well as developing an understanding for the nutrition mental health link in his own life.
James focuses his work in two primary ways. First is to understand that all behavior is some form of communication, and that there are always deeper emotional roots to the day to day struggles teens are facing. The second focus is the understanding that healthy relationships lead to healthy individuals, and that if a teenager can actively repair their relationships they are more likely to turn towards the resources of their family instead of away from them as they grow up and experience the challenges of adolescence. When not working with the boys in the woods or mentoring newer clinicians, James loves spending time with his growing family and enjoys the playful energy of his young daughter as she experiences growing up and enjoying the expanding world around her.

Ryan Price is a primary therapist in the young adult program at Deschutes Wilderness Therapy and is a licensed professional counselor and master addiction counselor in Oregon. He has been working with young adults and their families since 2016 in various settings, including wilderness therapy, a college health and counseling center, intensive outpatient, and private practice.

Ryan is passionate about helping young adults pursue healing and find greater depth in relationships in the wilderness setting. He uses a deeply relational approach in his work with clients and their families. He recognizes that a person can’t heal from their wounds unless their pain is held, honored, and met with compassion, so he aims to do just that. By recognizing their emotional needs and gaining awareness of their internal world, clients better understand how they communicate their needs in unhealthy ways and learn to do so more effectively. Ryan strives to find the most effective balance between challenge and compassion with each client to find freedom from their symptoms – anxiety, depression, low self-worth, addiction, self-harm, suicidality, etc. – and gain insight about themselves. As they develop personal insight, Ryan’s approach helps them find authentic motivation for change rooted in their values rather than external factors.

As a master addiction counselor, Ryan is excited about working with young adults to address all forms of addiction. He understands the importance of helping clients understand the underlying hurts that lead to addiction. He also enjoys working with clients that struggle with grief, loss, and trauma. Ryan is trained in and uses brainspotting, Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY), and emotion-focused therapy in his therapeutic work.

Ryan has been playing guitar for over 20 years and is passionate about incorporating creativity and many forms of art into his somatic therapy work to aid whole-body trauma processing and more profound expression of thoughts and emotions. He uses emotion-focused therapy in his family therapy work to support family members that often experience their own trauma from their child’s addiction. Throughout the family therapy process, Ryan strives to help each member of the family experience greater closeness and connection with one another. By integrating family involvement throughout the entire wilderness therapy journey, he supports parents and loved ones in grasping the underlying emotions of their young adult and learning to hold, honor, and exhibit compassion to their young adult in new and more effective ways.

While growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Ryan developed a deep love for the outdoors and enjoys sharing that excitement with others. When he isn’t working, Ryan can be found fly fishing for steelhead and trout throughout central Oregon or searching for new mountain ranges to explore.

Mandy Demetriou is the field therapist for the young adult program at Deschutes Wilderness Therapy and is a clinical social work associate in the State of Oregon. In 2017, Mandy completed her BS in Outdoor Education with an emphasis on group work/interpersonal relationships and psychology at Georgia College and State University.

Mandy worked as an outdoor instructor for several years at various guiding organizations instructing adolescents and families in backpacking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and mountaineering. This is where she developed a passion for creating experiences and safe places for others to grow and is what propelled her to pursue a Master of Social Work.

During a two-year clinical internship, she worked in the school system conducting therapy for families and students in addition to conducting research for the county to provide equal access to mental health services. Post graduate school, she specialized in eating disorders at an outpatient clinic. This experience ignited her desire to dive into somatic interventions for her clients to reconnect with their bodies as a source of healing.

Over the years, Mandy has received training in therapeutic modalities such as DBT, CBT, and TF-CBT; however, believes that skills-based interventions only begin to scratch the surface of our deepest wounds and narratives. Her passion and respect for the transformative powers of the outdoors led her to pursue wilderness therapy at DWT as an avenue to provide trauma-informed, strengths-based, relational therapy for her clients. She is excited to engage with the group as a field therapist as she believes that relationships can cause the most damage and will also provide the most healing.

After work, you can find Mandy fly fishing, reading, dancing around her kitchen to her new favorite playlist, or training for her next outdoor adventure. Mandy loves creating experiences for friends through game nights and potlucks, and the casual couch hang outs. On the weekends, you can find her driving to her next mountaineering or climbing objective in the Cascades.

Bridgette (she/her) was born and raised in a small town called Platteville, Colorado, where she grew up playing many competitive sports such as softball, volleyball, and basketball. Bridgette studied at Colorado State University and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2019. During her undergraduate degree, she was also a student-athlete at Colorado State University and played for the softball team. Bridgette then went on and pursued her master’s degree in social work and graduated in 2022. During her master’s degree program, she interned at an adoption agency in Fort Collins, Colorado, called Adoption Dreams Come True.

After finishing her master’s degree, Bridgette decided to move to Bend, Oregon, and be closer to her partner. Bridgette’s interest in social work stemmed from her experience in psychology interning in other case management roles with the elderly and persons with disabilities, as well as her interest in mental health among student-athletes. She loved the many aspects social work could bring into her professional role and wanted to explore more about this profession. Bridgette learned many therapeutic techniques in her graduate program and has been very interested in wilderness therapy and horticulture therapy ever since. Bridgette strives to bring her experience within adoption and attachment-related concerns to Deschutes Wilderness Therapy and her experience within case management roles.

Bridgette enjoys spending her time baking, painting, hiking, meditating, and being outdoors in general.

Laura Murphy received her Masters in Counseling from the University of Oregon in 2020, a Fine Arts degree in dance, and has been working in a variety of therapeutic capacities since 2013. Before joining the clinical team at Deschutes Wilderness Therapy Laura worked in community mental health counseling children and families in crisis and teaching creative and emotional expression through dance. In her clinical work, Laura takes a strong family and community systems approach, believing that a child’s resiliency is a direct result of their family and community systems. Laura specializes in Brainspotting, somatic therapy, expressive arts therapies, creative arts therapies, and attachment theory. Laura utilizes art therapy, creative movement, and improv to facilitate both therapeutic exploration and somatic experiencing. Through art therapies, Laura enables adolescents and young adults to communicate their internal world when they don’t have the words to articulate it.

Laura’s clinical framework is influenced by child development theory, specifically the work of Janet Lansbury (author of No Bad Kids). Laura helps parents to gain insight into their own style, patterns, and triggers and how these things impact their parenting. Laura guides parents to approaches with their children that are developmentally aligned and respectful of their child’s capacities.

Laura loves to travel and explore, learning about how different communities and societies support and influence how people function within their group. Living overseas in Poland for several years, Laura began a lifelong journey to understand people, culture, and her own family. Laura and her family love spending time adventuring outdoors with their 2 big dogs and their energetic and curious daughter.

Leah Chambers, MA, Professional Counselor Associate, is a Family Therapist with Nest Family Services. Leah began working in wilderness therapy in 2017, completing a clinical internship with Deschutes Wilderness Therapy and growing into clinical roles that included Clinical Specialist and Primary Therapist for adolescents, young adults, and their families. Since leaving DWT in 2020, Leah has served youth and families in community-based settings; Leah joined Nest Family Services in 2022 and returned to wilderness to support families in finding healing and hope for the future.

Leah enjoys working with families to uncover and process emotional injuries at the root of problematic behaviors and relational obstacles and implement meaningful and practical solutions to challenges. Leah finds joy in walking with clients and families as they author new narratives about themselves and their experiences and helping families discover meaning and purpose for the pain. Leah’s approach is grounded in Attachment Theory, Existential Theory, Motivational Interviewing, Somatic Experiencing and Experiential Therapy techniques. Leah is trained in Brainspotting and Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY).

Leah holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Colorado Christian University (2018). Leah is committed to evidence-based practices and contributing to the high standard of the counseling profession. Additionally, Leah has over ten years of combined experience working with pre-teens and teens in mentorship and counseling roles. Leah has experience supporting diverse clients and their families through the facilitation of individual, group, and family therapy to address the many issues related to trauma, attachment injuries, interpersonal problems, depression, anxiety, and addictions.

When not working, you may find Leah in her garden, painting, hiking with her friends or family, or playing with their pups, Tank and Ruger.

Savanna joins the Deschutes Wilderness team in 2022 excited to engage with family systems work. She brings a warm and collaborative approach to her work with clients and believes that every person has a valuable perspective and qualities that contribute to a cohesive family system. It is her goal to help families see and appreciate these unique qualities in themselves and each other in order to develop more meaningful relationships. Savanna works through a strengths-based lens and provides opportunities for clients to shine in their individual talents.

Mariah joined Deschutes Wilderness Therapy as a clinician working with families and adolescents. Mariah specializes in trauma, attachment, emotional dysregulation, and family systems functioning.  For most of her life, Mariah has been interested in understanding the impact trauma and dysfunctional life events have upon the human body and mind and how those interruptions can be addressed and repaired. In 2010 she pursued an education in East Asian Medicine and Acupuncture, seeking a deeper understanding of the body’s innate ability to heal. It was here that Mariah realized the mind and body must be addressed together to activate the healing process and invite the possibility of experiencing wholeness.

In her personal life, Mariah likes to spend time outside with her dog, traveling, and learning all the world has to offer.

New Vision Wilderness, Deschutes Wilderness Therapy, First Light Wilderness Chief Clinical Consultant/Co-Founder
Brainspotting International Senior Trainer
Heartmath Interventions & Resilient Heart Programs Co-Author
Wellbriety Mending Broken Hearts Trainer

Steve is a dual-licensed psychotherapist filled with passion and knowledge surrounding the intervention and change process. His experience comes from two decades of intervention with tough-to-reach client populations in therapy settings ranging from residential, community-based, outpatient, and wilderness therapy. He is a trainer of several unique therapeutic models, including Brainspotting and HeartMath. Steve co-founded New Vision Wilderness Therapy, Deschutes Wilderness Therapy, and First Light Wilderness programs with a trauma-informed and clinical focus. He continues to work as a core therapeutic training development staff with the Institute of HeartMath, receiving their Humanitarian Heart award in 2018. He is a leading active International Brainspotting trainer.

Along with his training in Phase 1 and 2, he created the Developmental Trauma-Focused Model of Brainspotting. Steve is also a Native-focused a Wellbriety Mending Broken Hearts trainer and Generation Red Road facilitator. Steve spends time amongst trauma-focused treatment masters like Gabor Mate and Bessel Van Der Kolk, and his training is recognized nationwide for cutting-edge therapeutic techniques, science, and inspiration.