In the last six months, Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women has doubled in size. The program now has the capacity to enroll twice the number of clients, creating more opportunities for young adult women to receive critical, gender-specific treatment.
Almost three years ago, the founders of Legacy Outdoor Adventures for Men decided it was time to create a program for young adult women, Juniper Canyon. They recognized a serious need in the industry: while there were wilderness therapy programs that accepted young adult females in their all-gender groups, there was yet to be a gender-specific wilderness program that specialized in treating women between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five (18 – 35). In early 2018, Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women opened and started taking clients, under the direction and leadership of co-founder and clinical director Dr. Maddy Liebing.
Two and a half years later, Juniper Canyon Recovery Center is thriving. Since the spring of 2020, the program has doubled in size. This expansion adds a second group was made possible by the renovation of facilities to create more space, and the clinical team expanding. There are now two full-time Juniper Canyon clinicians, Rachel Rollins, MA, ACMHC, and Veronica Malencia, MA in addition to Dr. Liebing and a clinical intern. The clinical team works alongside a staff of experienced women, including Program Director Maura Rodkey, and a full team of female guides.
In addition to spending four days a week in the field, Juniper Canyon clients also take advantage of Legacy Treatment Center, which is licensed as a residential treatment center and offers the ability for trauma-focused treatment such as EMDR and equine therapy, as well as psychiatric and medical care.
The fact that Legacy Outdoor Adventures and Juniper Canyon Recovery Center were able to enroll a record number of clients in August and September points to the fact that there is a serious need for young-adult, gender-specific treatment. Now, with so many lives changed as a result of COVID-19, and the July Kaiser Family Foundation study revealing that 53% of adults reporting that their mental health has been negatively affected because of the pandemic.  Juniper Canyon is happy to be able to help more young women than ever.
