Savings Young People's Lives: An Interview with Susan Daily

It is impossible to encapsulate Susan Daily into a category or even summarize her incredible skills into one career path. She is an outdoor education, former teacher at the semester school Outdoor Academy and a psychotherapist focusing on youth mental health. She has intentionally worked with youth in many capacities - nature, school and one on one - in order to improve their lives, and as she says - save their lives.

When discussing guidework, Susan reiterated time and time again that the secret sauce to working with people and young people is respect. “Every person and teen needs respect. Every teen is a buddha that is struggling and trying to emanate that out as much as possible. You cannot shame or blame them but centralize the universal regard for who they are,” stated Susan. She noted that this is always the key to great guidework, but especially in the worsening youth mental health crisis.

We are at a very interesting moment in guiding. There is an international crisis in youth mental health and not enough therapists. This is a huge opportunity for curriculum, alternative schools, peer coaching groups and any creative solution that, as Susan says, will keep youth alive. This includes guides. “There is a need for great guides in alternative academic settings like never before. Guides can be healing. We need to reach as many teens as quickly as possible - to build them up through education to take risks again and build social skills,” advised Susan.

Susan noted that Outdoor Academy’s “no phone” policy was instrumental in supporting positive mental health. Disconnecting from a constant stream of comparison, news and engagement was essential and many students came to Outdoor Academy just for that reason. But Susan quickly noted that the cell phone policy wouldn’t have worked as well if the staff and instructors didn’t support the students in making that shift and modeling it themselves, showing how curriculum should encompass the whole healing experience, not just in the classroom. “I am most interested in the transformation that occurs when adolescents discover their grit, creativity and personal positive potential. It illuminates their authentic selves and their role in building and being a meaningful part of their community,” shared Susan.

An exacerbating factor for the youth mental health crisis is the increasingly volatile political sphere. A lot of states in the US determine what can and cannot be taught in schools, criminalize gender affirming care and protect hate speech. Susan disparages these policies and the harm it causes youth. She sees the mental health crisis as an inroad: youth are taking their lives,and wellness education from transformational guides is essential in combating this crisis.

Susan also notes that the mental health crisis affects guides as well - we are all struggling. Our questions for you all are:

How do you take care of yourself mentally and emotionally so that you can show up fully as a guide?

What curriculum or approaches do you rely on to support young people mentally?

I asked Susan what she would do if she had more time and wanted to fill a need in the world. Without skipping a beat, she said “save more young people’s lives.” At that moment, I knew how to encapsulate Susan - she is a healer.