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Clinical Team 1-888-266-5136 |
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Aspiro staff are experienced, professional,
and highly effective. In addition to years
of experience working with adolescents and
families, all therapists have college
degrees and are licensed. |
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The Aspiro Clinical Team |
 Director of
Clinical Services -
Justin Robinson, LCSW
Justin worked in Hawaii,
Alaska, and Puerto Rico before returning to
his roots in the mountains of Utah. Justin
started working with families and at-risk
youth in 1994. Justin joined the Aspiro
Team so he could use his passion for
recreation, experiential learning, and
therapy to better the lives of youth and
their families.
With a BS in Recreational
Therapy and a Master’s degree in Social Work
from the University of Utah, Justin has
worked in numerous other programs in
leadership and key management positions.
The father of four children, Justin and his
wife Janet love the outdoors, skiing, and
taking family vacations. |
Kay Luther, MSW
A
Michigander for most of her life, Kay is
now proud to call herself a Utahan. The
spectacular desert and dramatic
mountains brought Kay to Utah over five
years ago, and will likely keep her here
for a lifetime.
Kay has a
Master’s degree in Social Work from the
University of Utah and from Michigan
State University a degree in
Anthropology. Her working experiences
ranging from rock climbing instructor to
advocate for the homeless have helped
her to become a compassionate, proactive
and well-rounded therapist. Having
worked with kids in the wilderness and
in residential centers, and now at
Aspiro, Kay is dedicated to helping
adolescents achieve their fullest
potential and feels that doing so in an
outdoor setting is ideal. Kay
also has previous training as an
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
It is
essential in Kay’s life to spend as much
time as possible outdoors, whether it’s
a backpacking adventure or simply
gardening. Her three rescued dogs bring
joy and laughter to Kay’s life, and she
loves taking them on her many Utah
journeys.
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Dr. Brad
Carpenter - Psy.D.
Brad comes
to Aspiro with over 10 years of clinical
experience working with adolescents in
both therapeutic and assessment
settings. His experience has brought
him to understand the extraordinary and
distinct characteristics of our students
as well as the individualized needs of
their families and consultants. Unlike
most psychologists in traditional office
settings, Brad has been fortunate enough
to utilize and refine a model for
“interactive assessment,” which we feel
is uniquely suited to our program.
Brad is
originally from Atlanta, Georgia where
he worked in adolescent residential
treatment while obtaining his Doctorate
of Psychology from the Georgia School of
Professional Psychology. During his
education and training in clinical
psychology, he specialized in
psychological assessment and
Neuropsychology. He received advance
training at the Emory University School
of Medicine and completed a dual track
pre-doctoral internship in health &
clinical psychology at Tewksbury
Hospital outside of Boston,
Massachusetts. He has most recently
worked as the testing director and
associate director of academics for a
therapeutic boarding school where his
responsibilities included assessment,
therapy and research. In addition, Brad
has facilitated psychological
assessments for a short-term wilderness
program. Here, he served as an academic
consultant, helping to develop
experiential curriculum and eventually
guiding the program through
accreditation. In his spare time, he
served as an adjunct professor for North
Georgia College and State University
where he taught psychological theory,
assessment and therapy for their
undergraduate program as well as their
nationally accredited Graduate School of
Counseling.
For the
past few years, Brad has volunteered the
majority of his resources and time to
the development of the music program and
business club with students in a
long-term therapeutic boarding setting.
He enjoys playing guitar, performance
and music production. He loves
competitive sports and other outdoor
activities such as hiking, mountain
biking, boating, wakeboarding and snow
skiing.
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 Amy
Olsen - MFT
Amy is
a native to Utah and has a love for the
diverse landscape it offers. She is
passionate about the mountains, deserts,
rivers and valleys. She believes in
the reprieve that nature offers and the
potential it provides for broadened
perspectives and healing. Having had
first hand experience as a wilderness staff,
Amy knows the impact that the environment
can have in cultivating an attitude of
humility. Combined with this, she
learned as a white water guide on the
Colorado River the reverence one must have
for nature's power.
Amy
received a Master's degree in Marriage and
Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific
University. In her course work and
when working with families, she focuses on a
strength-based and solution-focused
philosophy. She believes that all
youth and families have strengths and
potential to draw from. She has worked
with adolescents and the "troubled youth"
population since 1998 in the roles of
competitive swim coach, wilderness staff,
residential staff and transport agent.
She also worked as a therapist for over a
year at a youth and family agency in
Seattle. Amy believes that working
with youth and families while they are in
the midst of crisis offers a unique
opportunity for change and growth.
In
her free time Amy loves to be active - from
backpacking to rafting to anything that
sounds adventurous. She enjoys
traveling and has spent some time in Europe
and Australia. Amy is close to her family
and is grateful for their support.
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Dr. Gordon
Day - Ph.D.
 Gordon L. Day, Ph.D. (currently of
Psychological Testing and formerly of Summit
Preparatory School and Outback Therapeutic
Expeditions) has been hired as director of a
newly formed specialty program for
neurologically diverse students. This
specialized student group will specialize in
assessing and treating students with a wide
range of learning and psychological
difficulties, including those in the
pervasive developmental disorder spectrum.
Dr. Day has had a dream to create a
specialty program that makes the rich
assessment and treatment opportunities in
adventure therapy available to students with
more significant learning disorders. Dr. Day
is convinced that Aspiro provides the ideal
foundation for helping these students.
"Aspiro has a strong adventure therapy model
and a track record of helping students in a
safe, respectful manner. It’s the perfect
place to help these students learn and
grow."
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 Josh Watson - LCSW
Since 1999,
Josh has been working with
adolescents and their families. He holds a
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor
in Business Administration from Gardner-Webb
University. He also earned a Master’s Degree
in Social Work from the University of
Georgia. Josh is a Licensed Master of Social
Work in the State of Georgia and a member of
the National Association of Social Workers.
His graduate research focus was in child and
family development, psychiatric assessment
of children, and the integration of
solution-based behavioral approaches into
the public school sector. Josh served for
two years as in internal and field research
analyst for the Great Schools and Families
Research Project funded by the CDC through
the University of Georgia. He also has
experience working for community service
boards, inpatient psychiatric hospitals for
adolescents, and private practice. His
areas of clinical expertise are in
interpersonal relationships, leadership
skills, and resource allocation.
Josh was a
collegiate wrestler and scholarship
recipient. He has been a wrestling coach
and facilitated multiple summer wrestling
camps for adolescents. Josh enjoys the
outdoors, sports (especially wrestling,
skiing, and golf), traveling, politics, and
spending time with his wife and family.
During the
four years before coming to Aspiro, Josh has been a therapist and an
admissions officer for a therapeutic
boarding school. He joins the Aspiro team
with a genuine enthusiasm to make a
difference in the lives of many. “I have
never lived outside of the Southeast.
However, after learning about Aspiro’s
clinical approach and intense adventure
therapy model I made the decision to move
across country,” said Josh. “This
organization is truly a breath of fresh
air.” |
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Janet Robinson -
Clinical Administrative Director
 Janet discovered her passion for
working with youth and their
families over thirteen years ago.
After working in various youth
programs as a youth counselor and a
home parent of 14-18 adolescents
Janet wanted to become more involved
with families. Her work as a Peer
Parent, providing support and
education to parents in one-on-one
situations, increased her desire to
do even more.
Supported by her husband and
children, Janet returned to school
at the University of Utah and
graduated at the top of her class
receiving a Bachelors of Social Work
with an emphasis in child welfare.
Janet continued her work with
families as a Child Protective
Service Worker for the state of Utah
where she ensured the safety of
children by protecting them from
abuse and helped support families in
crisis. She and her husband also
became foster parents and opened
their home to adolescents. Years of
having these struggling teenagers in
her home has given Janet
understanding and empathy for both
parents and youth.
The most important thing to Janet is
her family. She and her husband
Justin have four wonderful children.
She enjoys spending time with them
and being involved in their lives.
She volunteers in their classrooms
and actively participates in the
PTA. She enjoys camping, hiking,
boating and just being with her
family.
Janet is excited to be a part of the
Aspiro team as she understands the
calming and healing powers of
nature. She loves being a part of a
program that builds on the strengths
and accomplishments of the student
to encourage them to make positive
changes in their lives.
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