This past summer many of the dedicated staff at Monarch participated in an extensive Strategic Planning process. Six full days were spent with Steve Harper, a wilderness industry master and strategic planning genius, (Steve has facilitated Strategic Planning for the likes of NOLS and IBM). Steve included alumni, parents and staff who were unable to attend the meetings in his thorough interviews to provide the best possible feedback for the process. The process was grueling and looked at what we do wrong, do right, want to change, dream about doing in the future and everything in between.

While the Monarch Center is currently growing and strong, the guidance from, and adherence to, the wisdom that was gleaned from our Strategic Planning process will ensure success well into the future!

In the sidebar to the right, you will see the Value Statements that were articulated throughout the strategic planning process. Our newly refined vision and mission statements are delineated below.

Our Vision
To facilitate family-centered and holistic therapeutic interventions for families with youth who are seeking greater emotional health, more authentic relationships as well as a more complete level of personal expression. All of our programs will rest on a foundation of Gestalt and wilderness therapy principles. Our goal is to create and facilitate innovative programs and interventions that are of the highest quality, integrity and effectiveness.

Each of our staff will commit themselves to their own professional and personal growth and exploration with the understanding that they cannot lead and walk with others to places they have not gone themselves.

As an organization, we will support all of the above with every available resource.

Our Mission
Monarch Center is an innovative Gestalt and wilderness therapy program designed to facilitate growth and health in the family system and within the larger context of community.

Esalen Institute, renowned for its healing natural hot springs has long been recognized as a world leader in alternative and experiential education. Dramatically situated on the Big Sur cliffs over the Pacific Ocean, the sacred beauty of the land – clear air, pulsing sea garden path and waterfall, steaming mineral water bubbling up from deep within the earth – is itself transformative.

Now in its fifth decade, Esalen is an organization that has been devoted to the exploration of human potential since the 1960’s. Historical luminaries like Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Joan Baez and Fritz Perls have gathered at Esalen to develop revolutionary ideas, transformative practices, and innovative art forms. Today, it is a place that guests participate in an incredible variety of alternative education and personal growth programs in subjects ranging from meditation to massage, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, art, music, and much more.

Esalen has long been a Gestalt mecca. Fritz Perls, the father of Gestalt, spent his last years practicing at Esalen and has left a legacy for people interested in practicing and exploring Gestalt principles.

The Monarch Center is now in collaboration with the Esalen Institute and facilitates adult backcountry trips that originate and end at the magnificent Esalen facilities. For more information about our upcoming Esalen trips in May and September 2007, call our Admissions Coordinator at 303.569.0767, send us an email or download brochures and applications below.

1. Trip #1 : Wilderness and Gestalt
   May 25 - June 3, 2007

          Exploring human potential through Wilderness and Gestalt Spring 2007
   
   




2. Trip #2 : Wilderness and Gestalt
   September 28 - October 7, 2007

          Exploring human potential through Wilderness and Gestalt Fall 2007
   
   

The focus and goals of the intensives and expeditions will be:


• To provide each participant an intensive personal experience through Wilderness and Gestalt modalities.
• To teach participants the benefits of integrating Wilderness and Gestalt.
• To provide a safe and challenging wilderness experience encouraging participants to develop personal skills and understanding of Gestalt and Wilderness modalities.

The Participants: Designed for those interested in – or those seeking careers in – the Wilderness (e.g. Outdoor Behavioral Health) and/or Gestalt fields, as well as those wanting to experience and learn more about Nature’s ability to heal, instruct and guide.

The Facilitators: This workshop will be led by a group of facilitators who together have a combined experience practicing Wilderness and Gestalt therapies of over 100 years. Their styles, skill and love for what they do, make them a team of unmatched excellence.

Expedition Details: The cost for this 10 day expedition, including all equipment (except personal clothing), over 50 hours of workshops, food and lodging is $4,200.00 per person. To register, please contact our Admissions Coordinator at 303.569.0767

Greetings Monarch Family!!!

While driving towards the Pine Ridge Reservation with eight Monarch students, I could not help but wonder about the experience that lay ahead. My mind continued to drift to the numerous documentaries I had seen on Pine Ridge Reservation, in which they often highlighted the American Indian Movement, and the ceaseless violence that defined this reservation in the 1970’s. I had been diligent in my request that our students be well prepared to step foot on Lakota land and have at least some understanding of the Lakota culture and their past/present relationship with the Government. I wanted the students to understand why they might be met with some resistance for their “white” privilege. However, as we approached the reservation I was awed by the beauty of the grasslands, the way in which the setting sun painted the hills a brilliant rose. I watched the horses graze in the fields and thought about the thousands of buffalo that once roamed these hills. I felt a sense of calmness and my initial fear subsided.

Upon entering the reservation I was aware of how foreign this land felt, although we were still in the United States. The Pine Ridge reservation is located in the southwest corner of South Dakota. The reservation consists of 3,468 sq. miles, making it the eighth-largest reservation in the United States. We would be staying on 40 acres, which were owned by Floyd and Natalie Hand, two well-respected Lakota elders within the Pine Ridge Community. Floyd Hand is considered the spiritual leader/medicine man of the Lakota nation. He is also a direct descendent of Chief Red Cloud and comes from a long line of Lakota warriors and healers. Natalie Hand is a community activist, who organizes a community Food/Clothing Drive for the reservation out of her garage. She also spearheads many campaigns to help protect the Lakota sacred lands.

We were met by our hosts with tremendous warmth and hospitality. We quickly settled in and found our days full with cultural learning and service projects, while our evenings were often spent seated around Floyd, listening to this elder share stories of his life, his culture and the Lakota’s worldview. I cringe when I think how many native languages are lost each day on the planet; therefore it was refreshing to be surrounded by the Lakota language being spoken. It is amazing how intact the Lakota culture is, despite colonialization and the government’s ongoing attempt at cultural assimilation. The Lakota people are one of the only tribes in the United States who still live on their original land, although their "territory" has been GREATLY reduced.

Students were granted the opportunity to participate in many cultural experiences and service projects during their stay on the reservation. This included: helping to box and deliver food and clothing to elders and people of need, beautifying Chief Red Cloud’s gravesite, storytelling, learning Lakota songs and games, participating in a traditional Lakota sweat lodge, cultural history lessons, sleeping in teepees and meeting with Lakota political activists. The students also received an honorary dinner by Chief Red Cloud’s descendents for their hard work and honoring of Chief Red Cloud’s gravesite.

Although 97% of the people on the Pine Ridge Reservation live below the Federal Poverty Level, making it the poorest reservation in the United States, I think I can speak for the students and staff when I say that we experienced the richness of the Lakota culture. Monarch is looking forward to deepening our relationships with Pine Ridge Reservation and with the elders that offered their time and energy to our group. In gratitude for their hospitality and generosity we will be conducting an ongoing food and clothing drive to benefit the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Thank you for your support.

Carrie Daily
Education Director

At Monarch Center we believe that when one member of the family is struggling, the entire family is affected. Additionally, destructive and disruptive behavior patterns in youth are often times attempts to bring help to the larger family system. We strive to avoid the "identified patient" model, whereby blame is placed on one family member, and that member is then "shipped off" to treatment for an extended period of time. Instead, youth that come here are joined in family therapy sessions at our base camp in Georgetown, Colorado every third week for family therapy and visits.

The following are components of our program:

• Minimum 30 Day Program
• Boys and Girls, ages 10 to 18
• Clincally Intense Program - Individual therapy, group therapy, family intensives, and multi-family intensives are offered.
• Wilderness Therapy - Backcountry living and adventures in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.
• Education - Earn transferable academic credit while enrolled at Monarch Center.
• Weekly Community Service - Learning the value of giving back, our students have participated in many gratifying service learning projects.

Georgetown, Colorado Office
Phone: 303 569-0767
Fax: 303 569-0120
Address: 700 Sixth Street
PO Box 797
Georgetown, CO 80444

There is an inherent healing quality when we do our work in the backcountry that has something to do with the primitive lifestyle, the lack of distractions, connection to the earth and intense physical exertion. At Monarch, we provide an intensive wilderness therapy experience for youth that facilitates breaking the cycle of destructive behavior.

Cutting through the clutter
The proliferation of computers, cell phones, televisions and radios create distractions that can prevent the development of healthy relationships. The wilderness setting strips the clutter of technology from the lives of troubled youth who are constantly seeking new sources of stimulation. Once freed from these distractions, the silence and humbling vistas of the wilderness foster introspection and genuine face-to-face communication.

Providing for oneself, others
Comfort and survival in the wilderness is highly dependent on the ability to provide food and shelter for oneself and the group. Monarch Center participants are required to learn and employ basic skills such as cooking, hauling water, map and compass orientation, etc. that are essential for existence. For youth who have never been relied on in this way, the backcountry experience presents the opportunity to participate positively as a functional group member - the cornerstone of the family unit.

Building trust and confidence
Monarch Center students are invited to participate in activities such as rock climbing, backpacking and rafting, which challenge them to develop self-confidence and effective communication, teamwork and conflict resolution skills. These demanding activities foster a keen sense of trust between human beings – the core of any healthy relationship. In addition, each youth gains a heightened awareness of his or her tremendous potential for tackling and overcoming new obstacles.

"Tim was right about this spot. I feel relaxed every time I look at the lake, every breath I take I feel calmer. The sun’s reflection makes the water look like silver flowing (because of the wind it looks like a lake of silver) and stopping, flowing and stopping. Some pieces of ice that are under the water have a hint of green, which looks really cool, or how when the wind blows it makes tiny waves on the water. When the sun comes out, it makes me feel happier and it feels warm against my skin. It also lights up this area, making it even more beautiful. The spot I am sitting in is like a small piece of paradise in the snow and mountains."

- Monarch Student

Gestalt and wilderness therapy are both experientially based therapies that rely less on talking and more on the expression of emotion with an emphasis on genuine relationship and contact. They are especially effective when working with "therapy wise" people, because it "gets people out of their heads and into their bodies/emotions."

Frequently Asked Questions about Gestalt Therapy

What is Gestalt Therapy?
Gestalt Therapy is most often recognized for its focus on awareness of one’s life in the present moment and how one organizes their experiences.

1. Gestalt encourages a non-judgmental awareness of one's present experience from moment-to-moment.
2. Gestalt relies more on the expression of emotion as opposed to simply talking about their feelings.
3. Gestalt promotes self-acceptance and self-support and insists on personal responsibility and relationship with others.
4. Gestalt tends to be more active than traditional psychotherapy, often times utilizing "experiments" to facilitate meaningful therapeutic progress.

What are some examples of "experiments" that are used in Gestalt Therapy?
In a Gestalt experiment, a client may be asked to repeat a statement they have made with more energy and emotion, or may be encouraged to direct their emotion to a pillow or empty chair that represents a parent, friend, etc.

Is Gestalt Therapy New?
No. Gestalt therapy was first developed by Fritz & Laura Perls in the 1940 and 1950s. Fritz Perls was a Berlin-trained psychoanalyst. He moved to the West Coast in 1960, and in 1964 the first Gestalt training workshops were offered at the Esalen Institute. The Gestalt therapists at Monarch have a combined total of over 100 years experience practicing Gestalt therapy.

Nick joined The Monarch Center for Family Healing in 2003 and is currently the field director. He is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and performance of the field program and is dedicated to the safety and well being of the field instructors and students in the backcountry.

A graduate of the University of Vermont’s Recreation Management program, Nick is an experienced mountaineer, mountain biker, paddler, and backcountry traveler. He served four years as a U.S. army ranger and is a graduate of Airborne School, Ranger School, S.E.R.E. Survival School, Non Commissioned Officer Primary Leadership Development Course, Combat Lifesaver, and Field Sanitation. He has also been employed by the National Park Service as a park ranger and a biological technician.

Nick spent the last several years working as a field instructor for youth wilderness therapy programs and was the experiential education director for a youth residential treatment center. He is committed to youth development through enlightening wilderness experiences.