Bradford Drewniak, LCPC
Maryland Department of Health,
Owner & Operator of The Center for Actualized Counseling, LLC
It all begins with an idea.
Growing up on the edge of a forest in Central Maryland, Bradford quickly developed a strong connection with the outdoors. As he ventured off to the city to begin his schooling and clinical training, he found himself deeply missing the connection to the natural world that shaped him. Naturally, he wondered, how can I integrate the healing, grounding power of nature with the traditional methods of counseling and psychotherapy?
As Bradford continued his work in a variety of clinical and research roles spanning institutional, inpatient, and outpatient environments, he wondered if his passion for the outdoors and improving human wellness would ever merge. In fact, while attending Towson University, he started the Towson University Hiking Club, while also receiving training in counseling psychology; parallel worlds yet to merge.
Then, one day, he crossed paths with Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan, owner and founder of Chesapeake Mental Health Collaborative (CMHC) located in Towson, MD, by way of a happenstance interaction with a former coworker of Bradford’s at REI. When they connected, Dr. Schreiber-Pan shared a similar thought….”how can we make this happen?!” From that point forward, Bradford then began his immersion into the world of ecotherapy and collaborated with Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan and the rest of her team to expand therapeutic offerings that integrate the healing elements of the natural world. In collaboration, the team coined the term, Nature-informed therapy (NIT), a type of ecotherapy, under the newly minted Center for Nature Informed Therapy (CNIT). NIT is parallel to the model of trauma-informed therapy in that it asserts that ecological mindedness is an essential element of the treatment process, as is our understanding of the impact of trauma. This model builds upon existing socio-ecological models and asserts that to be human, is also to be of our natural environment, rather than solely impacted by our human generated environments. Consequently, understanding our connection to the landscape, the life contained within it, and our origins, is all crucial in attending to human wellness and health.
Bradford currently runs a solo private practice, known as the Center for Actualized Counseling. Bradford has served as a former trainer, consultant, educator, advisor, trip leader, and clinician for CNIT in addition to leading efforts in his community to organize tree plantings, native plant swaps/education efforts, trash clean-ups, and other efforts to protect the local ecosystem.
Prior to his current role as therapist in private practice, as an avid outdoorsman, Bradford founded an outdoor recreation group responsible for organizing 100+ backpacking trips and day hikes in the Baltimore/Washington region. Previously, Bradford also served as an REI classroom instructor, researcher under the UMB School of Psychiatry, and psychotherapist in a community mental health setting. Bradford also draws from prior training from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
