ABOUT CLIMBING THERAPY ASSOCIATION
OUR STORY:
Welcome to the Climbing Therapy Association, an group dedicated to providing support and resources for therapists and health professionals who use rock climbing to assist clients in their healing process.
Our story might be familiar to you - We began after Maribeth Olsen, an educator and behavioral climbing coach started searching the web to see if she was the only one of her kind. She stumbled upon Aleya Littleton, a therapist and trainer and *BOOM!* Suddenly she wasn't alone. After lots of beer and scheming for global domination, we decided to create a hub where everyone who uses climbing intentionally can find each other.
Our goal is to promote the use of rock climbing as a form of therapy and encourage its integration into the mental healthcare system. We are working to offer a variety of programs, training, and events to help professionals stay informed and connected in the field of climbing therapy. Join us in our mission to help others heal and grow through the power of climbing.
OUR FOUNDERS:
Aleya Littleton, LPC, is an adventure and psychedelic therapist with a Masters in Adventure Therapy from Prescott College. She specializes in trauma treatment and the use of nature and the outdoors for healing. She recieved her Single Pitch Instructor certification from the AMGA in 2013, and has climbed all over the world.
Her background as a science teacher and NASA Formal Education Lead inspired her fascination with neurobiology, the human body and the natural world. She is a rock climbing guide, and trains therapists in the use of rock climbing in therapy. A public speaker and therapist educator, she was featured on Amazon’s The Three Day Effect, and in Outside Magazine.
In addition to working with clients in both outdoor and indoor settings, Aleya created the Clinical Rock Climbing Therapy Training - a hybrid online and in person training for therapists and health professionals who want to incorporate rock climbing into their clinical practice.
Maribeth Olsen, is a former K-8 teacher from Michigan who has been busy playing outside and working with families in the Front Range since 2016. Using climbing as a teaching tool has been her dream ever since she stumbled upon it while teaching and coaching youth in after school programs at Planet Rock Climbing Gym in Ann Arbor, MI. She moved to Colorado and found like-minded practitioners who also want to grow the field of Climbing Therapy, inspired by the need for neurodiversity-minded coaches and accessibility to social & emotional needs-based training.
In 2020, She founded The Young Ascenders, a trauma-informed climbing program in Fort Collins designed to teach life skills to youth in the foster care system.
Excited to see climbing enrich the lives of these youth, she continued my training with two climbing therapy courses in the summer of 2023. I am currently the only coach in the world that has been trained by both Alexis Zajetz, a climbing psychotherapist and author from Austria and Aleya Littleton, a climbing therapist and trainer in Colorado.
The launch of Beyond Climbing closely followed her training adventure in 2023 and the rest is history! It has been an incredible journey so far, to see the joy and self-learning that climbing can bring and the impact that it has brought to BC families!
OUR PARTNERS:
The Climbing Therapy Association is seeking to partner with both corporate and non-profit agencies! If you are interested, please contact us directly!