So why speculate?
To get my brain rolling towards the future I suppose. To begin to associate myself with my future profession. This is a good practice for any of us with a new future ahead: Begin to visualize your self in it. Speculate. Relate. Own it. Create your space, and move in. Here is what I see in the distance.
Thanks for reading. :)

Theories
Gestalt Therapy’s focus is on present awareness, and the client coming to change through becoming more aware of who they actually are (Corey, 2009). This focus reminds me of the Taoist approach to life. It also sounds similar to a few training for climbing books I’ve read. Arno Ilgner, in The Rock Warrior’s Way said, “Awareness is the key to beginning any process and to solving any problem... If you are unaware of how you think you have very little power to change. Without change there is no improvement” (2003). The idea of mindfulness and a client’s interactions with the world can be directly applied to climbing as a sport. I would be interested to look into the application of training for climbing and it’s parallels in counseling, and the potential for designing a program that would use not only the challenge of climbing and the experience of being outside, but the practice of mindfulness and the subsequent dialogue as an agent of change.

Even before joining the MAP program, I knew I wanted to learn how to use experience to help others, much like experience has helped me. ABP seems to be the perfect medium to bring together multiple theories of counseling and apply them in a non traditional setting, which may result in even more meaningful change. The elements of humanistic theory that I appreciate, empathy, the relationship with the client, and exploration as a guide to insight are obvious in ABP. Gestalt theory also plays a role where we see the use of wilderness and the environment and how the client responds and interacts while in it.
The role of a counselor is to facilitate change. The client seeks out the counselor seeking that change, and the counselor provides the relationship, space, tools and support necessary for that change to occur. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this, just as there are a variety of types of clients and counselors. The unique pairing of people, skills and the timing in which they occur can bring phenomenal results.