DESIGNS IN DECORATOR WOOD
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During an early morning hike up
one of the nearby mountains, the
group stopped to allow time for
shmirat ha’nefesh (mindfulness
practice) and personal prayer.
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“Many of them found wilderness to be
the place for their recovery and to get on
a good mental track.”
“We thank God we’ve raised a fair
amount for scholarships, which has
been very important,” Bock says.
At nearly $500 a day, the cost of the
program can be prohibitive for many,
and insurance covers only the therapy
sessions.
In January, BaMidbar opened its
doors to the inaugural group of par-
ticipants, all of them from New York.
They learned about the program from
their rabbis and are in various stages
of graduating. The program goes for
two to three months.
BaMidbar has a staff of 20, includ-
ing a medical doctor, four masters-
level clinicians, a field therapist, three
field guides, an on-call psychologist,
spiritual advisers and rabbinic interns.
THERAPY IN NATURE
Participants move through five phas-
es, working with a therapist through-
out. They set goals and are measured
against them. During the week, par-
ticipants are paired with field guides.
They backpack. They haul and treat
their own water; they carve their
own spoon to use throughout their
stay; they sleep in tents. Days are
broken up with prayer or meditation,
journaling and therapy sessions.
BaMidbar therapists also work
with parents before,
during and after the
program, helping
them to repair their
relationship with
their child.
The sixth phase is
transition support
that lasts for six
Jory Hanselman
weeks.
“At BaMidbar,
students work
through challenges in an environ-
ment where they’re totally immersed
and where staff can help them recog-
nize triggers. We put a huge empha-
sis on understanding of the self,” says
Director Jory Hanselman. “We also
put an emphasis on skill building —
like learning how to build a primitive
fire. We connect the process of build-
ing to building skills to face chal-
lenges. We say how you do anything
is how you do everything.”
BaMidbar has graduated two peo-
ple so far, and the feedback has been
positive, Hanselman says.
“Our population was not strug-
gling with substance abuse but with
depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder.
For many of our students, substance
use and abuse play a role. We see a
lot of co-occurring mental health
disorders with substance abuse dis-
orders,” she says.
“For our first season and first year
we built a really strong foundation.
Students have grown and developed.
We stress that there is no panacea;
not all challenges are fixed in 8-12
weeks. We lay a foundation and build
skills to face those challenges,” says
Hanselman, 27.
After taking the summer to refine
the program, including curriculum,
staff support and transition support
services, BaMidbar will formally
launch a year-round program after
Sukkot in the fall. It will take a
maximum of 24 participants or three
groups of eight. During the summer
months, when Ramah is in session,
BaMidbar will be held on additional
acreage that Bock plans to lease.
“I hope this program is the begin-
ning of a larger dialogue within the
Jewish community, within the camp
community,” Bock says. “I hope this
is a model for what other summer
camps can do in the mental health
space.” •