Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jonathon Baillie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jonathon, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The name of my business/private mental health and adventure therapy practice is Active Mental Health. In short, our mission is…”through therapy, nature and adventure, we seek to help you know yourself more, to challenge fears and perceptions that keep you stuck, in pain or feeling lost, to heal and ultimately to help you move towards your desired change.”

This mission developed over years and through experiences I’ve had in my own life. In 2007, I was on my way to law school and in the summer before I was to begin school, I embarked on a mountaineering trip with Outward Bound, an experiential and outdoor education provider. I have always loved adventure and found that the best adventures were had outside and with others, so jumping on a trip with Outward Bound made total sense to me. On this trip, I shared time with others and had time to myself, away from distractions, stressors and the constancy of everyday life. It was here that I first had the chance to approach my thoughts and feelings about heading to law school and what I felt like I was really being called to. Something was off but until this time, I had not had the chance to work through this and honestly was also using this as an excuse to avoid the complexity that this would add to my already-made decision to go to law school. This avoidance was sustaining feelings of anxiety and depression, things I had struggled with previously and that had underpinned an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Although I was sober and in recovery, the issues that had led to addiction in the first place, still required vigilance and attention. I remember this so vividly, I sat in a boulder field in the Gore Mountain Range of Colorado, below a billion stars, alone, with myself, praying and finally giving my thoughts and feelings the time and attention they needed. In this extraordinary place, I came to know myself more, a deeper level of honesty that required courage and awareness. This paved the way for me to ultimately decide not go to law school and instead enter the mental health field. This was the first step of so many, without it, the journey would not have begun.

We don’t have have to be in nature to spend time with ourselves and others, we don’t have to be in nature to have an extraordinary experience that can teach us and lead to change, we don’t have to be in nature to grow and have an experience but it absolutely helps. Outside of my own experience, the research continues to show this.

Part of what I came away with on that mountaineering trip was a conviction that I was here to help others and what I was experiencing there, in the mountains, and had in so many parts of my life via nature and adventure, was what I wanted to share with others. I wanted to learn to help them in the way that I had been helped. That has been my path since 2007.

Since that time, I completed my masters degree in counseling psychology, became licensed and now have my own business where I offer traditional therapy and am building an adventure therapy program.

Jonathon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I work with a wide-range of populations and issues. Age wise I see clients from 5 years old and up. In terms of issues, my expertise is in treating substance use/behavioral addictions. I also have a great deal of experience in treating depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, ADHD, clients struggling with relationship issues, meaning and purpose and life changes. I specifically provide individual therapy, family therapy and group therapy.

I continue to offer traditional (in office) therapy both in-office and virtually and I offer adventure therapy. I am currently completing my Clinically Certified Adventure Therapist (CCAT) certification through the Association for Experiential Education.

My approach to helping others and offering adventure therapy sets my apart from others. I am not saying it is “better” than others but it is a unique and effective offering. I aim to combine therapy, adventure and community….therapy through adventure and community. I am excited to build more group adventure therapy offerings where clients can connect via therapy and adventure and find acceptance, validation and support. These are fundamental to feeling safe and effectively working towards change.

Additionally, therapy is allowed to be fun and I think it is really important that this is a focus at times. Adventure allows for this.

Essentially, therapy is about the client. That being said, if adventure is not helpful or something they are seeking then we will work to find what works best for them. My work as a therapist is absolutely client-centered in this sense.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My previous employer, a large group private practice, began to make some changes and decisions that were not in line with my values. I had been there a little over 5 years and had been working to build an adventure therapy/addiction treatment program there. Lots of time had been put in but the longer I stayed the more I could feel the friction between what was happening and my values. Eventually it came to a decision between staying and trying to salvage things or letting go and building a private practice. This was hard and there were lots of unknowns. I have a wife and 2 kids, whatever I decided had to work. After giving myself some time to process my thoughts and feelings about this, talking with my wife and close friends, I decided to leave, to let go and start building a private practice. It became clear that sacrificing myself, my values because staying felt safer was not worth and was not true. Staying was not safer but it was known and would require less change. Making the decision to leave was important and necessary for me to keep moving forward on this journey, I had to step into the unknown. I was trusting what I believed I had been called to.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth. My best strategy for gaining new clients is by focusing on the client I am with and working to help them. Sometimes that means I refer them to another clinician with greater expertise in a certain area. Keeping this focus helps me to stay grounded and to do my best work, without getting lost worrying about how I am going to get more clients. With this approach, I have never needed to “find” more clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: activementalhealth.com *currently under construction

Image Credits

All pics that I took myself.