Clinical Team

Tara Feeney-Stireman, LCSW
Therapist
tara@elementswilderness.com

Tara has been working with children and adolescents in the outdoors for over 10 years. She learned early in her career about the power of wilderness to create positive change in the lives of young people. She believes we go to wilderness to better prepare ourselves to live in modern society and continue the journey of self awareness and change. Wilderness is the ideal setting to engage and motivate adolescents, conduct an accurate assessment and opportunities for growth and insight.

Originally from northeastern Ohio, Tara began working in wilderness in New York at Ramapo for Children. There she was the assistant director of an adventure therapy program following two years of service with Americorps focused on providing therapeutic wilderness experiences to youth, families and groups. Tara moved to Utah in 2003 to work in wilderness therapy. She began as a field instructor at another wilderness program and knew immediately that wilderness therapy was a natural fit. She worked as a senior wilderness field instructor until pursuing her graduate degree.

Tara received her Master of Social Work Degree at the University of Utah. During the MSW program she completed internships at Vista Adolescent Treatment Center and Copperhills Youth Center, providing individual and family therapy to teens in residential treatment. She also worked at Valley Mental Health in an outpatient program specifically designed for women with children that have substance dependence and other mental health concerns. These experiences provided the catalyst to return to wilderness and accept a position at Elements. Tara is also trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence based psychotherapy technique designed to treat individuals with PTSD or individuals who have experienced trauma.

Tara spends much of her free time outdoors and sleeps better under the stars. She loves the mountain and desert surroundings that Utah provides and can often be found climbing, skiing, kayaking, hiking and traveling the western U.S. She also enjoys gardening, cooking and listening to live music.

Lynn Smith, LCSW
Clinical Director, Co-Founder
lynn@elementswilderness.com
801-910-7286

Working in therapeutic wilderness programs is a natural fit for Lynn as it combines his enthusiasm for outdoor recreation, passion for personal growth and graduate training in social work. Lynn’s specialty is using the wilderness to promote insight, motivation and change in adolescents. Lynn has worked with adolescents in many therapeutic settings, including residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, group homes and an outpatient substance abuse counseling clinics. Lynn started his career in wilderness therapy as a field instructor in 1994 for Aspen Achievement Academy.  He later joined a multi-site wilderness therapy program where he trained new staff, mentored senior field instructors and served as a wilderness therapist.

In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in clinical social work at the University of Utah, Lynn also completed a one year substance abuse treatment certificate program.  This training included an internship as a substance abuse counselor in a program that served inmates in the Utah state prison system. Substance abuse and dependence continue to be a focus of Lynn’s clinical practice and he believes the wilderness is an ideal setting to start the course of recovery.

While in graduate school he completed an advanced practicum working with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and an additional practicum at the Veteran’s Hospital. In this setting, Lynn worked with veterans suffering from a wide variety of mental health issues. His most rewarding experience at the hospital was co-facilitating a therapy group for WWII veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Lynn has been able to use these experiences to identify and work with mild developmental disorders and to work effectively with young men who have experienced trauma.

Lynn is originally from Lodi, California and grew up playing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He spends much of his free time enjoying the mountains and deserts of Utah. He has spent the past 8 winters teaching and coaching snowboarding at Snowbird and currently coaches part-time for the Snowbird competition snowboard team. He also enjoys biking, rock climbing, mountaineering, fishing, scuba diving, backpacking and traveling. He is currently training for his second LOTOJA double century bike race.