CLINICAL STAFF


EVAN KEELER-WOLF

I am Evan Keeler-Wolf, founder of Adventure Mentors, a forward-thinking social, educational and life-skills training service based in Oakland, CA. My mentoring and life coaching philosophy unites my extensive professional training with an honest, energetic and humorous approach to helping my clients identify and pursue their life goals. In contrast to many other mental health professionals, I offer my clients a clear picture of both my successes and missteps in life when appropriate. I adhere to the belief that to find our best selves we must learn to view ourselves objectively, while loving ourselves compassionately. In teaching this practice to children and young adults, I lean heavily on creating organic experiences, where modelling and reciprocity seem natural. For most of my clients these experiences do not come as naturally in an office setting, thus for maximum efficacy, I strive to personalize each session based upon my clients' particular needs and interests.

I bring to my practice over 15 years of professional experience working with children and young adults. As a mentor, I draw from knowledge and experience gleaned from work as a credentialed special education teacher, private tutor, group therapy co-leader, swim instructor, soccer coach, camp counselor and youth wilderness trip leader. The amalgamation of these experiences has given me the opportunity to work and interact with children ages 4-18 in a multitude of settings.

I created Adventure Mentors with the focus of helping children find and hone the skills they need to live harmoniously with their families, peers and themselves. The obstacles and subsequent steps toward this goal vary dramatically across my client-base. Some of the issues and behaviors I specialize in managing include:

  • impulsiveness
  • social and/or situational anxiety
  • addiction
  • conversational curiosity
  • perspective taking
  • self-entertaining
  • independence
  • self-confidence

My method for promoting positive emotional and behavioral change begins with a strong emphasis developing fun, trustworthy and mutually respectful relationships with my clients. During this time I am able to informally assess the strengths and areas of need in my clients and plan a combination activities, routines and discussions to encourage their growth. Throughout the process, I also consult and facilitate conversations with parents, siblings, teachers, education specialists, therapists, psychiatrists and other helping professionals to get an accurate picture of my clients needs. After we reach a state trust and "buy-in", my clients and I begin to work on and discuss core-issues during educationally exciting client-interest-directed outings. A few of the important cogs to my mentoring programs include:

  • Self-regulation training (self-talk, anticipation, self-calming)
  • Play as therapy (with focus on teaching creative play)
  • Conversational awareness training (story-telling, gauging interest, follow-up questions, transitions)
  • Routine building


In addition to my focus of working on developing behavioral and social skills, I offer my services as a academic tutor or home-school teacher. I have 3+ years of state-credentialed teaching experience to children with a wide spectrum of special needs. I am confident teaching and tutoring multiple subjects to children in grades K-12.

For questions and inquiries please contact me at–
Phone: 510-384-1468
E-mail: adventurementor@gmail.com




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© 2008 Virginia Keeler-Wolf