Meet John Rowe-Stokes | Mental Health Therapist and Adventure Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Rowe-Stokes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
When I was growing up I was fascinated with adventure. My grandfather, a Merchant Marine, used to awe me with his stories of circumnavigating the globe, playing baseball with penguins in the arctic, and all of the characters he would meet in his travels across the globe. These are some of my earliest memories leading to daydreams about what types of adventures I might create. I would say I grew up with excitement around that feeling of “the thrill of the chase”. Every adventure we would take while I was growing up felt like Christmas eve. It was the feeling of just not knowing what you might experience the next day.

Around my eighth birthday my world started to come down around me. I began to struggle heavily with anxiety and depression. Over the next several years I would experience multiple treatment episodes. During this period of my life I discovered an anchor in art when a counselor of mine at the time provided me with a watercolor set. This set had a lot more to teach me than technique. I learned that art opened a door for me to control my breathing, bring my heartrate down, get me oriented to the present, and think more clearly.

Moving into my teenage years was defined by mental health treatment, but also by the discovery of several outlets for caring for myself. I would say one of the most powerful experiences during those years was a roadtrip across the country to Colorado. Perhaps Kerouac encompassed this feeling best when he wrote “I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.”. It was a new world of snow-capped peaks, big game, fall colors, canyons, wild rivers, wilderness areas. For me, this was the stuff you only got to see on the discovery channel.

My father, a geologist, made a point of getting my sister and myself outside. We grew up following him around the state on rockhounding trips swinging picks and sledgehammers to unearth gemstones like topaz, aquamarine, smoky quartz, and amazonite. This was a time where I was learning to tie a tautline, clean a trout, read a line through rapids, choose a good climbing route, read terrain on a topo map, and practice wilderness medicine; these experiences taught me to be inquisitive about the world around me and about myself.

I have become a listener throughout my time in the mountains and I have learned that multiple things need to come together for a successful adventure. One needs plans to look forward to while preparing an adventure. There is a need to be adaptable and expect things to change. During change one needs to reassess the approach to problems. There is a need to challenge your companions and support one another as teammates. One needs to communicate. One needs to make time to reflect. An important aspect is staying present and savoring the journey itself. When you leave your environment for the woods you disengage from screen time, leave behind fast food and other creature comforts, and you are left with two things: the natural world around you and your thoughts.

Nature affords us an enhanced experience in accessing our senses. To touch, see, hear, smell, and taste can help us find a flow state and can allow us to physically ground and think more clearly. Nature gives us time to practice metacognition; the awareness and understanding of our own thought processes. The understanding of our own tendencies provides us with the opportunity to respond rather than react to situations that arise around us. I think that this process has allowed me to become a better partner, support, and artist in my community.

My life and my art is inspired by my experiences outside. I have now held roles as a whitewater raft guide, a mountain guide, a wilderness therapist, a social worker, and finally, as a photographer. In practicing my crafts I get to incorporate nature into my life regularly. As a therapist, I get to use these teachings from nature to help individuals learn about their thought processes, responses, and their relationship with their body and mind. As a photographer, I get to find balance in my life by practicing self love and self compassion through accessing nature for my own mental and physical wellness. Photography also represents pride in creating something beautiful through hard work. I cannot count how many times I have tracked the weather radar and poured over maps so that I can leave the house at 1am to go bag a peak for that coveted sunrise shot. I have no formal training or credentials as a photographer. Like life, I see this as a practice. In continuing this practice I hope to inspire others to get outside and find out how nature can benefit them. If one person sees a shot of mine and decides they will take a hike, I consider this success.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It gives me so much pride and gratitude to say that I have created two businesses and have co-founded a nonprofit. To be able to work independently with the flexibility that allows me to get outside as much as I want would astound my past self.

One of my businesses is my private practice: John Rowe Counseling. I specialize in working with survivors of sexual violence and trauma. I completed my degree at the University of Denver’s Four Corners program in 2016 and since then have held roles in jail based health services, homeless outreach, integrated care, substance use counseling, residential treatment, wilderness therapy, and crises response. After leaving years of agency work it was terrifying to go off on my own to start a private practice. There were so many questions like “Am I competent enough to do this?”, “Will I be able to make my rent?”, and “What will happen if I fail?” Getting to a level of comfort did not happen until my third year in practice when I finally felt I had a hold on managing the business. I believe that my growth came from just jumping in. As I learned all of the intricacies of structuring a business, advertising, scheduling, medical billing and a whole host of other puzzles I had to remind myself that this was my first time, and that I just needed to take it one step at a time. The best advice I received in business was when I am overwhelmed to ask myself “Is this hard, or is it just tedious?” This helped me to remember I could in fact break a problem down into manageable chunks.

My second business that I am growing is my photography company called Jagged Mountain Photography. I say growing as I have a plan to make photography into a viable business that could supply half of my income one day. I dream of owning a gallery while still being able to practice therapy part time. My philosophy is that if you start with a goal and work backwards, you can then create concrete steps towards achieving your vision. I had spent years building a portfolio that I am proud of and upon doing so I launched this company two years ago. I am finally selling my work in local shops and in a large furniture chain and I am breaking into wedding photography and custom adventure shoots. I am working up to selling my work at shows. My goal for this company is to one day own a small gallery where I can practice my craft, and also provide part time tele-video therapy.

I am so proud of the lifestyle I have created for myself. These two businesses allow me a lot of flexibility in my day. In between therapy sessions I can edit photos, research, and plan shoots. I am always out on a rock climbing, backpacking, or other outdoor activity on the weekend and the camera does not leave my side. One of my favorite things about owning a business is the ability to set my own hours.

I do want to mention the nonprofit called In The Weeds that I co-founded with chef Blaine Baily in Durango, Colorado. I am very proud of this initiative that works to support restaurant and hospitality workers through providing peer support groups, workshops, and wellness programming. I come from the philosophy that once you are able to care for yourself then you can begin to care for others and I value giving back in our communities if you find yourself in a place that you can do so. Blaine is the director of this organization and between his work and the work of the board they are making a profound impact in southwestern Colorado.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fort Collins is a bike and beer mecca with quick access to the outdoors. As I write this the Tour De Fat is still raging downtown, a bike parade described by the Coloradoan’s author Erin Udell as “A festival that encourages all things wacky and wonderful”. If I had a visitor and wanted to show them one thing that depicts the Fort Collins culture, this would be it. All you need is a bike to explore over fifty miles of dedicated bike paths that connect you to town and over twenty craft breweries located here. For an extended stay we might go for a jaunt up in State Forest State Park where the moose are plentiful and the backpacking rivals more popular spots in the state. We would not leave town without stocking up on some of those incredible burritos from Consuelo’s.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to recognize my grandfather for putting all of those “silly ideas” into my head about adventure and travel. I also want to give a big shoutout to the art community that surrounded my partner and myself with support during the pandemic by giving us a place to be ourselves while practicing a new form of art. Specifically that would be Sue Collentine and the community at Smokestack Pottery here in Fort Collins, Colorado. Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to my partner Ariel Rowe-Stokes for continuing to inspire me to pursue growth.

Website: jaggedmountainphotography.com

Instagram: jagged_mountain_photo