A wilder kind of school therapist
Wolf &
Bear
Specialist mental health provision for nature-based schools and colleges.
Wolf & Bear is the schools and colleges division of Wilder Health, a specialist nature-based mental health provider operating across Kent. We deliver high-quality psychological support to educational communities, including talking therapies, staff training, complex case consultation, and whole-school mental health planning.
Our story
We founded Wolf & Bear because we believed mental healthcare for young people could — and should — be better.
Better means:
- Proactive support that helps young people stay well, not simply applying a plaster when things go wrong.
- Equipping teachers — who shape the adults young people become — with real mental health knowledge, skills and confidence.
- Care that feels accessible, engaging, and genuinely useful — wherever the young person is at mentally or geographically.
We know that asking for help takes a lot — the courage of wolves, and the strength of bears.
That’s why we’re here.
What we offer
Our provision is available as three core packages, each commissioned on an academic-year basis. Bespoke arrangements are available for settings with more complex or specialist requirements.
The Pupil Package
Direct therapeutic support for students, including individual and group talking therapy, crisis support, report writing and inter-agency liaison as required.
The Staff Package
Professional support for your staff team, including regular reflective practice, six half-day CPD sessions per year, six complex case consultations per year, and serious incident debriefing as required.
The Whole School Package
Combines the Pupil and Staff packages with whole-community skills groups, mental health curriculum input, and consultation on psychologically healthy school design.
In safe hands
Our clinicians are HCPC registered, hold enhanced DBS clearance and outdoor first aid certification, and have a minimum of three years' post-qualification experience working with children and young people. We evaluate outcome data every term to evidence our impact so you can see from the numbers what difference we are making to your service.
Our therapies
We specialise in adapting NICE-recommended, evidence-based therapies for outdoor and animal-assisted settings. Our current therapeutic offer includes:
For young people who find traditional talking therapy difficult to access, we also offer equine-assisted therapy and poetry therapy — approaches that meet young people where they are, rather than where services expect them to be.
Spotlight
Yew Tree Futures
Yew Tree Futures (YTF) is a specialist therapeutic college for young people whose education, health, and care needs have not been met by mainstream provision. Wolf & Bear provides all clinical services at YTF, embedded within a whole-college model in which mental health is integral to every aspect of the setting — from staff training and supervision to the design of the physical environment.
Our provision at YTF includes
- Weekly individual therapy for every student, with no waiting lists and no session limits, delivered in nature-based and animal-assisted settings
- A psychological formulation for each pupil in term one, to help the whole staff team understand their unique context, triggers, and support needs
- On-site crisis support throughout the college week, available to students, staff, and safeguarding leads
- Monthly reflective practice and half-termly CPD for all college staff
- Whole-college psychological skills groups, including mindfulness, coping skills, and compassion-focused approaches
- Multi-agency liaison with GPs, CAMHS, social care, and families; report writing; and specialist referrals as required
Commission Wolf & Bear
We work with specialist colleges, alternative provision, and mainstream schools across Kent. Whether you are a local authority seeking provision for a cohort with complex needs, or a school looking to strengthen and formalise your mental health offer, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss what a tailored package might look like for your setting.