About David Saldaña

David Saldaña has been working in the field of therapy and mental health for 22 years, working in both wilderness and residential boarding school programs throughout the American West and Canada. Through his experience he has held many positions that have added to his repertoire of therapeutic experiences, such as field staff, senior field staff, residential director, program director and now Therapist. One highlight of David’s career was creating a year-long outdoor program for adolescent youth in southern British Columbia that operated for 4 years, bringing children from Vancouver, and all along the Okanagan valley into the outdoors to teach team building, leadership, and healing activities. Dave also managed and directed staff, teaching them essential wilderness skills, and providing guidance and instruction on guiding the youth in this dynamic program. Through his experiences and training, David specializes in working with a wide range of clients including LGBTQIA, adolescents and adults impacted by trauma, attachment disorders, personality disorders, depression, low self-image issues, anxiety, gender identity struggles and substance related disorders. David is passionate about the outdoors and brings a unique outdoor experiential component, and perspective to his sessions.

            David brings years of experience and knowledge to the WinGate Wilderness Programs. He is a strong believer in experiential therapy, which he actively applies in his sessions. David is originally from southern California where he surfed, skateboarded and went to music concerts. He moved to Southern Utah in 1999 and went directly into wilderness therapy to start his career. David Graduated from Boston University School of Social Work with his Master’s degree in 2018 and is Dialectical Behavior Therapy Certified. When David isn’t working, he can be found hanging out with his wife, playing with any of his 5 children, leather crafting, wood or stone carving, walking in the desert, camping, hunting or fishing.