the full story
It all started with a tissue box.
Not because every therapy session I facilitated ended with tears, but because tissue boxes are great canvases for creativity. You see, when in community mental health you make work with what you have… and the place I worked at fresh out of grad school had A LOT of tissue boxes. Need to explain boundaries, voila! The box becomes a turtle with a tough shell! Discussing vulnerable feelings? Look at how easily those tissues tear. How about a place to put positive memories in? Boom, now the box is an emotional piggy bank! During my time there, I reimagined what it meant to be a therapist. I grew in my confidence, living by the principle that experience in and of itself could be the mode of healing as opposed to being a nice side dish next to the talk therapy main course. I began talking with others about what I was doing, and discovered a collective around the world who was doing the same thing. My love for adventure therapy was finally named.
Where the VISION meets EXPERIENCE
DEANNA VERMULM
FOUNDER & CHIEF OPERATOR
Clinical Social Worker
Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist
PCGI Rock Guide
WA Approved Supervisor
LICSW #SWI.LW.61016602
Education
Master of Social Work, University of Washington
Concentration: Children, Youth & Families
2016
Bachelor of Arts, Seattle Pacific University
Majors: Psychology, Sociology
2013
Affiliations & Advanced Trainings
I am a member of the Association for Experiential Education and Association for Contextual Behavioural Science.
I have received training in ACT, EMDR, ABFT, and CBT+. In addition to these therapy modalities, I am cross-trained in professional rock guiding and clinical rock climbing techniques.
I am trained as a Wilderness First Responder in order to provide lifesaving care for clients and community recreationists alike in emergency situations far away from advanced medical care.
Building from my foundation of third wave cognitive behavioral therapies, I use creative ways following evidence-based models to broaden therapeutic services to clients who would benefit beyond talk therapy. I see the value of bringing ideas to the real world, having watched clients conquer challenges after saying “I could never do that.” I believe therapy doesn’t always have to be serious even though it’s always serious work. If anything, my background in some of the most acute treatment settings speaks to the power of adding a little bit of levity in even the most complex and challenging circumstances. I tend to bring joy and spirit to my work, as well as great appreciation for my clients who trust me enough to laugh with me (and yes, some times at me).
On a personal note
My parents named me after Deanna Troi, the counselor aboard the USS-Enterprise in Star Trek. Ironically enough, in a family full of engineers and mathematicians, a therapist is exactly what I became. When I am not working, I love to cook, read, game, climb, run, kayak, backpack, do art, and pursue my personal quest of finding the best house-made chai this side of the Cascades. My husband and my cat have to put up with my evergrowing pile of (incredibly organized) clutter and endless rabbit holes about anything worth learning which, in my opinion, is just about everything.
