Peer Mentorship for Young Adults: Transitioning After Rehab & Wilderness Therapy with Colin and Hayley of Not TherapyPeer Mentorship for Young Adults: Transitioning After Rehab & Wilderness Therapy with Colin and Hayley of Not Therapy
Families Navigating Addiction & Recovery
Jeff Jones speaks with Colin MacDonald and Hayley Caddes about the gap young adults face after intensive treatment and how peer mentorship can support that transition. They share their lived experiences, practical ideas for parents, and a long-term view of recovery and independence.
53:59•2 Oct 2026
From Wilderness to the Real World: How Peer Mentors Support Young Adults After Treatment
Episode Overview
- Clinical treatment may stabilise a young person, but many feel lost when they return to unstructured real life, which is where peer mentorship can help.
- Parents are encouraged to move away from fear-based decisions and towards a long-term goal of a trusting, lifelong relationship with their child.
- Getting curious about what genuinely interests a teen or young adult can open doors to informal mentors, such as coaches or adults in related fields.
- Parents often need to adjust their own expectations and patterns, doing their own work rather than waiting for the young person to change alone.
- Allowing young adults to struggle within reasonable safety can be an important part of building intrinsic confidence and resilience.
“We really are doing this for the younger versions of ourselves and partially to make amends to our own parents.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation follows exactly that thread by focusing on young adults stepping out of rehab, wilderness therapy, and therapeutic boarding schools into everyday life. Host Jeff Jones talks with Colin MacDonald and Hayley Caddes, co-founders of Not Therapy, a peer mentorship and coaching service grounded in their own difficult teen years.
Colin shares a history of ADHD, high-risk behaviour, multiple psychiatric wards, rehab and wilderness therapy, noting it took “like a 10 year journey” before life really started to settle. Hayley describes growing up sensitive, internalising everything, turning to self-harm, substance use and eventually being sent to wilderness therapy and a girls’ therapeutic boarding school. Together, they talk about the huge gap between highly structured treatment settings and the messy, unstructured reality of young adulthood.
Clinical support may address symptoms, but many young people leave programs thinking, “Okay, now I’m in the real world. Now what?” Their answer is peer mentorship from people with similar histories who are now stable, resourced and honest about what recovery actually looks like. Parents are front and centre in this chat.
Colin and Hayley stress shifting from fear-based decisions to long-term thinking and the aim of “a lifelong relationship and their independence.” They suggest parents lower rigid expectations, get curious about what genuinely lights their child up, and help them connect with non-clinical mentors — sometimes that’s a coach, teacher, or trusted adult rather than a formal professional.
You’ll also hear about how they built their company, their emphasis on lived experience, and why letting young people struggle (safely) can be part of building real confidence. If you’re a parent wondering what happens after treatment ends, this conversation gives language, ideas, and some badly needed reassurance that change can take years and still be worth the wait. What small shift could you make today to move from fear to trust in your child’s long-term growth?
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