Dr. DB Palmer

DB is a consummate team builder and incurable optimist. He’s also a licensed psychotherapist, holding licensure in numerous states, and is certified in numerous specialties, such as: first responder counselor, clinical adventure therapist, integrative mental health, as well as a board approved clinical supervisor in several states. His career spans more than two decades of work in two diverse areas, with equal parts adventure leadership/wilderness guide as well as an impressive background within both executive healthcare systems and university counseling centers and clinical practices. He is also a former first responder, US Army National Guard Infantry soldier, police department crisis intervention on-call team member and after-hours emergency mental health responder for Seattle area hospitals, and he has significant experience as a clinician and director of mental health for the Department of Corrections in two states. Dr. Palmer has extensive experience facilitating Intensive Outpatient Programs for First Responders, spanning many years of engagement with first responders of all stripes.

As a clinician, Dr. Palmer is a leader in the field, as both a university professor and in corporate healthcare, within tribal healthcare and Infant, Child, & Adolescent Development. He’s well-known in the Adventure Film and Outdoor Leadership community, particularly in Alaska. As a university professor and healthcare executive, Dr. Palmer was project director for numerous federal grants as a partner with Johns Hopkins University, Indian Health Services, SAMHSA, Administration for Native Americans, and others totaling over $6 million in funding for Child & Youth Development programs that he developed. Dr. Palmer has taught extensively in the university system in outdoor risk management, wilderness medicine and leadership, adventure filmmaking, experiential education, and is a visiting professor within Grand Canyon University’s behavioral health program, focused on trauma, family development, and other psychology courses.

In his day-to-day life, Dr. Palmer and his wife, Greta, operate a small family farm and three generation vineyard in Southern Oregon. From there he operates a private practice, Adventure Therapy Northwest, utilizing Adventure Therapy and/or telehealth. DB and Greta also coach families in their Adventure-Based Parenting intensive coaching program which is designed to revitalize relationships, motivate active lifestyles, and foster long-term connections between parents and their children/adolescents. They maintain an active Youtube presence on their channel, Backcountry Professor, and they have five very adventurous kids, who are all interested in pursuing various careers in the US military. Dr. Palmer is a member of USCCA, a concealed carry permit holder, a well-known ultra-marathon paddler, a highly experienced wilderness canoeist, and is passionate about the freedoms afforded by the US Constitution, his faith, and in walking alongside those who find themselves in difficult and dark times.