Media
UBA in the Press
Radio & Podcast - An Uphill Climb
What does rock climbing have to do with helping underserved, traumatized kids find their motivation and healing?
In this episode of “Good Grief with Cheryl Jones” on VoiceAmerica, Cheryl talks with Dr. Hicks on his unique approach and his aims at helping as many kids as possible in his community outreach.
In this series, Cheryl and her listeners are inspired by people who have made something miraculous out of their deepest heartaches!
Climbing to Repair a Child
People climb for many reasons, and there are so many appealing reasons to climb. It’s fun and satisfying. For the die-hards, it’s a way of life, a lens for examining philosophy, a medium of self-expression. I’ve always loved to climb, but there was something about it that grabbed me in a deeper way that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I think you climb, and therefore I think you know what I mean.
On the front page of the SF Chronicle (April 29), I saw an article that hinted at exactly what I’m talking about.
A therapist by the name of Dr. Clifton Hicks was having success treating children with PTSD by taking them rock climbing in Glen Canyon Park. I admit that part of me felt a bit of pride upon reading the headline, as though I were somehow ennobled by the therapeutic benefits of the sport I’ve chosen. But we know that – adventure-based therapy is not exactly new – but here was a psychotherapist running climbing-specific outings to treat a specific condition.
Kids with PTSD find help through adventure-based therapy
The three boys looked like typical kids as they strapped on harnesses and ropes to scale a 30-foot rock.
They joked around, laughed, spontaneously broke into song and occasionally acted goofy.
But they aren't typical. James, Jovian and James experienced something traumatic when they were younger - trauma that might come from a car crash, violence or the loss of a parent. Each has been diagnosed with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, more often seen in soldiers returning from combat.
Helping kids battle PTSD and its symptoms - heightened anxiety, a quick temper, withdrawal, sleep problems - is a relatively new field. It wasn't until 1987 that the medical community officially acknowledged that children could have PTSD, too.
