Our Mission

Birdsong Wellness is a 501c3 non-profit corporation, we are a coalition of leaders working in the field of mental health and early childhood education and preventions to provide Eco and Somatic based therapies and community health resources to support the growth, healing and resilience of our community. Our practice is trauma informed and community attuned. We understand and recognize the painful and horrific footprint of imperialist colonization and capitalist institutions and social structure that fracture and harm our communities and the natural world that sustains all life. We work both within and adjacent to the mainstream healthcare system to foster alternative paths of healing and community wellness. We believe that de-colonized and diverse paths towards healing will cultivate a liberated and equitable society for both humans and the non-human allies (plants, fungi, animals etc.) that is nurturing, creative, abundant, sustainable and resilient. By fostering deep and meaningful connections to the natural world, we aim to provide healing resources that lasts throughout generations. Through humility, direct action and place based healing we strive to generate a healing impact on both human and the more-than-human, natural world.

Our values

Connection, Collaboration, Curiosity, Compassion, Care

Our Vision

• To provide nature based healing resources to the community that helps foster resilience, connection and meaning.

• To work collaboratively with the members of our community to address systemic issues that create suffering.

• To honor each individual exactly the way they are ,wherever they are at in their healing journey and to honor the social, cultural and enviromental context in which each person exists.

• To provide therapy services that are healing centered, trauma conscious and evidenced based approaches to mental health care and services.

• To provide affordable and accessible mental health care and treatment to individuals and groups across the developmental lifespan.

• To increase access to mental health and wellness offerings in rural areas that are often underserved and under resourced.

• To celebrate diversity, advocate for inclusion and maximize the abundant gifts and potential of our community members to help foster healing and resilience for all species and our planet.

Brianne hutchinson

BriAnne has lived most of her life by the ocean in Atlantic Beach FL and Santa Cruz, CA. She began spending her summers in Mt. Shasta and along the Trinity and Klamath Rivers when she was 20 as a commercial river guide, and made the decision to call Humboldt County her forever home in 2014. In 2020, BriAnne became a mother, which has inspired her work towards early childhood intervention and maternal mental health support. Looking at the world through the eyes of an infant has deepened her perspectives of brain development, attachment bonds and exploring ancestral lineages and healing. She is a registered Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Her focus is towards Ecopsychology and Somatic oriented therapies. As a feminist therapist, BriAnne also believes each individual exists within the context of a greater collective community, and aims to consider the social, cultural and environmental impacts of an individual’s experiences in life as well as their path of healing and wholeness.

BriAnne has walked many paths and worn many hats before becoming a clinical mental health counselor. She became involved with outdoor leadership roles while studying Community Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She spent several years working in local food movements and on organic farms studying and advocating for permaculture, sustainability and equitable access to healthy and affordable food. She worked as a commercial River guide for ten plus years, guiding immersive wilderness trips in California, Oregon and Washington. This experience gave her a deep appreciation of the more than human - natural world and it’s potential as a therapeutic ally and inspired her to pursue her graduate certificate in Ecopsychology alongside her Master’s degree from Lewis & Clark Graduate School. BriAnne also carries certifications in teaching yoga (E-RYT 500) and worked leading immersive Yoga teacher trainings through Yoga Alliance from 2013-2016. BriAnne completed her Master of Science degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling from Lewis & Clark Graduate School in 2020. She was awarded a National Board Certified Counselor Scholarship for committing to serving rural communities. BriAnne’s Master’s Thesis was an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis examining Somatic Experiences of Micro-dosing Psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. She worked as a therapist intern at The Center at Heron Hill a nature based and equine therapy center outside of Portland, OR. She currently works in Arcata and Willow Creek, CA providing trauma conscious mental health counseling and Ecotherapy services to youth & adults. She volunteers for Humboldt Psychedelic Commons supporting education and awareness around safety, integration, exploration , protection and decriminalization of psychedelic plant medicines & entheogen’s and non-ordinary states of consciousness. She sits on the organizing committee for the Arcata Out of Darkness Walk for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. BriAnne is trained in these models of therapy:

• Ecopsychology and applied Ecotherapy

• Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) w/special focus on Children & Adolescents

• Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM)

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAP)

• Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)/Parts Work

• Somatic Therapy and Trauma Informed Yoga

• ILF Neurofeedback, Othmer Method

Scarlet Ibis-Roley

Scarlet grew up in the great-lakes region and fell in love with the natural world while spending time in the boundary waters of northern Minnesota.  In 2007 she accepted a job at Heartwood Institute, moved sight unseen to Humboldt County and fell completely in love with the rivers, oceans and mountains.  Scarlet has felt a strong call to work with families and children her entire adult life, inspired by the work of Joseph Chilton Pierce and his descriptions of the physical body as a means of spiritual connection. After doing core coursework in Child Development she worked in various childcare settings including both Waldorf and Montessori Schools.  During this time, she continued independent studies in child development including (but not limited to) inquiries into therapeutic storytelling, children’s yoga, seasonal celebrations, Simplicity Parenting and attachment based play.  While completing her degree with a focus on Psycho-anthropology at Goddard college. The need to critically engage with the community to create meaningful change in the field of child development blossomed into what is now ‘Seaside Schoolhouse’, a nature-based family support center.  Seaside Schoolhouse became a haven for neurodiverse children and children with other sensory processing issues who struggled in conventional settings. Increasingly Seaside Schoolhouse emphasized time outdoors as a regulatory strategy, which led to eventually being a full nature immersion childcare program before transitioning into an outdoor space for family support in partnership with Agate Moon Ecotherapy Collective.  She is honored to live and work in such an amazing community of people and in such a stunning convergence of natural environments.

Combining the therapeutic power of nature with Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health has become the driving force for Scarlet’s offerings.Through attending the Humboldt County IFECMH training program for two years, Scarlet deepened her connection to the field of Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health and discovered her passion for providing reflective support to service providers. Scarlet has spent the last 5 years deeply engaged in the topic of parenting and childcare through connection and nature-based intervention and has trained in various evidence-based modalities to support families and children with playful intervention that supports regulation and healthy attachment, including:

• Hand in Hand Instructor Training & Foundations Course for Early Childhood Educators in Hand in Hand Parenting;

• Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Components of Care @ Postpartum International;

• Infant and Pediatric First Aid and CPR training; NBO- Newborn Observational Assessment ; Facilitating Attuned Interactions Training; Infant Massage;

• ANFT Nature and Forest Therapy Guide Training; NOLS Wilderness First-Aid Training;

• Humboldt County Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health Advanced & Foundational Cohort 2017/18 & 2018/19-2019 ; Theraplay Level 1 and MIM Training; Theraplay Sunshine Circles Training;

• Reflective Practice Training and advanced Reflective Practice support with Dr. Rachel Talamantez; Simplicity Parenting Family Life Coach Training;

Board of directors:

(Please check back soon for my detailed descriptions of our board members!)

• BriAnne Hutchinson - Executive Director , salaried position at $2000/mo.

• Adam Walker Hall, DO ~ Director of Operations, volunteer

• Roy King , MD ~ Chairperson , volunteer

• Allison Seibel, LCSW ~ Treasurer, volunteer

• Lauren Stacks ~ Secretary, volunteer