Mar 2, 2026
- Burn Survivor Climbing Clinic uses rock climbing as a therapeutic tool for recovery and confidence building
- Recreational therapy supports physical, emotional, and social well‑being through structured, evidence‑based activities
- Participants gain resilience, community connection, and goal-setting skills that translate beyond the climbing wall
Rock climbing may seem like just a fun activity or a way to exercise. But for Atticus Jones-Wahlquist, a burn survivor who attends the Burn Survivor Climbing Clinic (BSCC), offered through University of Utah Health’s Burn Center, it is a life-changing recreational therapy activity.
Recreational therapy is a systematic, evidence-based health care profession that uses recreation, leisure, and other activity-based interventions to support and improve overall health. These interventions can include creative arts, hiking, virtual reality, music, and more to support individual client goals. Goals can include things like improving balance, building social skills, reducing anxiety, strengthening memory, and enhancing overall well-being. For Atticus, rock climbing has helped in multiple ways.
“I think it helps in a lot of ways, but it made me more confident in myself and willing to try new things,” Atticus says. “It made me more social and self-confident because after the fire I became more shy.”
At just two years old, Atticus was burned in an accident involving gasoline and a lawn mower. He is now 16 and has been participating in the climbing clinic for about six years. His dad, Ammon Wahlquist, says once Atticus got involved in groups like BSCC, he gained noticeable confidence, even joining the high school football team this year as a freshman, something Ammon said Atticus would have never had the confidence to do before.
“He never played sports and decided to do football his first year in high school,” Ammon says. “His confidence came from rock climbing and doing hard things and pushing through it.”
Eric Bonin, a recreational therapist who leads the BSCC, says it’s incredible to watch participants grow in confidence. He describes one teenager in particular whose transformation was striking—not just in how she carried herself, but even in how she dressed. As she worked through the complexity of her trauma, she gradually moved from feeling like she had to hide her burn scars under hoodies and long sleeves to feeling comfortable leaving them uncovered in public.
The climbing clinic runs for six weeks, and each session begins and ends with a group discussion led by a recreational therapist. These conversations help participants share who they are, identify goals for climbing and for life, and process their emotions.
On one Saturday, Bonin invited participants to rate their energy level on any scale they chose. During the closing discussion that same day, he asked them again about their energy levels and encouraged them to name one challenge they had overcome during the session. This is the heart of using rock climbing in recreational therapy: participants push through difficult challenges on the wall. In doing so, they build confidence that carries into their everyday lives.
“You create goals not just for climbing but for other areas of your life,” Atticus says.
Bonin explains the climbing builds competence and confidence. “Setting goals and seeing yourself grow with the climbs you’re doing translates to, ‘yeah I can do this,’” he says. “It’s an active way to prove yourself wrong in those self-limiting beliefs we all carry around.”
Another huge benefit to the BSCC is community. Ammon describes seeing the burn survivors when they first gather. “When everyone is first coming, they are all pretty shy and quiet,” he says. “After a few sessions, they’re way more engaged and talking about goals for the week. It’s pretty exciting to watch!”
Atticus says the community aspect and comradery is invaluable. “Coming showed me I’m not the only person who got into a fire and is still recovering,” he says. “Shows me that everyone has a story and scars and has been through stuff like you. You’re not alone no matter what you’re going through.”
