Be Free. Be Well.

Inspired by the natural freedom of nature, Wild Wellness was founded in 2023 with the mission to help people experience the freedom of living a life grounded in self-awareness, self-acceptance, gratitude, and connection with community and our living planet.

Living “wild” is living unencumbered by negative self-talk, unhelpful beliefs, unhealthy relationships, and ideas about who we should and shouldn’t be. Living “wild” is embracing who we really are, pursuing it without hesitation, and living the unique life that only we can live, learning to appreciate and fully embody what’s already within us. We each have a special role in the world, and we can all thrive by recognizing our unique contribution and sharing it with the world. Living “wild” is finding and celebrating our connection to the planet- a source of restoration, empowerment, and meaning.

Wild Wellness serves anyone who wants to grow and live a more intentional, fulfilling life. Our hope is that you find something here that helps you flourish. Whether it be growing in individual therapy, learning new skills in a Wild Wellness group, or trying out a new way to connect with yourself, your community, or nature through one of our workshops, retreats, or other events.

Our Beliefs

  • It all starts with self-awareness. The more we understand our patterns and the more attuned we are with our likes, dislikes, needs, wants, hopes, the more we can live authentically and free.

  • When we deny parts of ourselves, or attempt to form ourselves into what we “should” be according to standards set by others that we’ve internalized, we will always struggle with not feeling good enough. To be mentally and emotionally well, we have to accept all parts of ourselves, even the parts we sometimes wish were different.

  • We cannot be well without caring for ourselves as living beings with value and dignity, deserving of being nurtured and nourished. Some people call this “self-care”- treating yourself like you matter enough to take care of yourself like you would a child or pet.

  • We don’t form in isolation and we don’t heal in isolation. To be fully well, we need to join an authentic community and participate as our whole, full selves. We become our best selves when we treat others with compassion and work to improve community for all, offering our unique contributions to be shared.

  • Connecting with nature is essential for fostering well-being. We are physical beings, dependent on nature for nourishment and growth. We cannot separate our own wellness from the health of the planet. Therefore, it is essential to recognize and honor our dependence on nature through responsible stewardship of the planet in everyday actions.

Meet our Founder

Kristen Salvatore, LMSW
Founder & Director

Kristen Salvatore, LMSW, is a clinical social worker with over 10 years of experience working with adults & young adults as they work to face transitions, build confidence, and manage difficult emotions. Kristen specializes in anxiety, particularly social anxiety and worry, and issues with relationships, assertiveness, and self-confidence, and the nature-wellness connection. Kristen has been passionate about nature as a healing tool and is motivated to help preserve our ailing planet.

Kristen received her Masters in Social Work in 2013 from the University of Michigan School of Social Work, the #1 Social Work program in the country. Following her clinical internship in the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, she completed a fellowship in Michigan Medicine's Adult Ambulatory Psychiatry where she specialized in anxiety disorders, grief and loss, and depression. She was rigorously trained in CBT (including exposure therapy), motivational interviewing, DBT, and interpersonal psychotherapy, and she gained deep experience developing and facilitating therapy groups.

Over the past six years, Kristen gained expertise developing and managing training and implementation programs in mental health. As the clinical director for the TRAILS program, she helped grow the program from supporting students in 15 Michigan schools to supporting students in every county in the state, along with programming in Colorado and Massachusetts.

Kristen has instructed courses at the University of Michigan in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, developed school-based programming to support the mental health of youth in Uganda, contributed to multiple publications, including articles in the scientific journals Implementation Science and Practice, Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, and Implementation Science, and most recently developed content for the book Experiential Billionaire.

Kristen now leads Wild Wellness, developing programming and clinical resources, leading e-courses, groups, and retreats, and working with clients individually via psychotherapy and wellness coaching. In her clinical work, Kristen provides a safe space within an authentic relationship to work through life’s challenges. Kristen can help you build insight and incorporate an understanding of your past into skills that will help you thrive and become your best self today. Kristen believes in the power of mastering discomfort to move us towards growth, and she looks forward to working on this with her Wild Wellness clients!

In her free time, Kristen volunteers at the Ann Arbor Creature Conservancy, watches dog videos online, creates art, and spends time with her husband, Max, and her dog, Sebastian.

Kristen is available for mental health & wellness presentations and workshops, workplace wellness consultation, and clinical supervision. Please email collaborate@wildwellnessco.org.

Collaborators

Each of our Wild Wellness collaborators brings their unique subject-matter expertise to their individual work and the development of their own curriculum for coaching, courses, groups, workshops, and retreats. Engaging and relatable facilitators, they work alongside you helping you or your team learn and grow. Some examples of the expertise held by our collaborators include:

  • Mental health issues such as anxiety, grief & loss, depression, and life transitions

  • Parent-child relationships and early childhood development

  • Life skills such as cooking and gardening

  • Yoga and mindfulness

  • Workplace wellness & employee engagement

Each collaborator creates a safe, inclusive, objective-driven, engaging experience for all clients. They leave room for each participant to develop their own unique insights vs. being overly prescriptive or formulaic. They communicate with integrity, foresight, and follow through and understand the psychology and daily reality of the people they are working with.

They do their own work - leading by example with their own personal experiences. They embrace a lifelong growth mindset.

  • Aysha Mahmood, LMSW

    GROUP AND WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
    Illinois

  • Jeff Johnson, MEd

    EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
    New York

  • Glenna Sullivan, MPH, MSW

    GROUP AND WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
    Illinois

  • Paula Brown, MBA, C-IAYT, E-RYT500

    YOGA AND MINDFULNESS INSTRUCTOR
    Ohio

  • Darcy Wyatt, LICSW

    GROUP AND WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
    Washington

Join the team

When you are selected to join Wild Wellness as a collaborator, you join a community of seasoned, best-in-class clinicians and facilitators who embody the Wild Wellness way and are area experts at the top of their fields.

Benefits of becoming a Collaborator:

  • We handle all of the paperwork and logistics of getting your programming started. The magic of designing and delivering the client experience is where you come in.

  • You always have a voice in the when, how, and where of your projects and who you work with. There are some brand consistencies in place to ensure a standard of excellence, but beyond that, we trust your unique expertise to guide your content development and client relationships.

  • As a growing organization, you can make your career what you want it to be. We are looking for partners to grow with us!

Motivation comes from within — and we are here to help you activate it.

Chat with us

Not sure where to start? We can help you sort through your goals and needs to find the best support for you. Schedule a call today!