Transform Your Life with UBU Therapy Farms Psychotherapy
Welcome to UBU Therapy Farms, located in Lincoln, NE! My name is Pamela Wheeler and I am an independently licensed therapist with additional certifications in animal assisted therapy from the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver. Care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices for the purpose of providing a natural and positive teaching environment for the development of social skills, life skills, job skills. Therapists at UBU provide supervised programs of farm related activities that include animal care and cultivating plants.
While our setting is anything but conventional, the first of its kind in Nebraska, our programs and services are grounded in evidence and expertise. Our hope is that each person who steps foot on our farm will feel welcomed and comforted by our passion to support them, and will learn how to “grow from within” to become the best version of themselves.
Start Your Journey Today
The first step towards transforming your life is to take action. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation and start your journey towards a happier, healthier you.
Amy Van Gerpen, M.S., PLMHP
Amy Van Gerpen holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an additional M.S. in Psychology. Her approach to counseling is holistic and person-centered; she believes that all people are unique individuals, the experts of their own lives, and called to flourish. Amy enjoys including experiential methods of therapy as she believes that play and creativity can be powerful means of developing self-awareness and promoting therapeutic growth for all ages, she therefore offers various play therapy techniques and art/creative measures for those interested in an alternative and/or supplemental approach to talk therapy. She is also a strong believer in nature’s ability to facilitate and promote health and healing and is especially humbled by the human-animal connection that the therapy animals facilitate at the farm; she considers her best friend Basset Hound Jewel as her therapeutic partner. Amy feels incredibly honored to walk beside and support her clients along their journey to growth and healing!
Contact Us for More Information
If you have questions about our therapy services or would like to schedule an appointment, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Ashley Romero, M.A., PLMHP
Ashley Romero graduated with a Masters in Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She also has a minor in art from her undergraduate program and enjoys utilizing creativity within sessions. Ashley has experience working with issues related to trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship issues and more. She has been trained in EMDR, DBT and IFS and practices within a trauma informed framework. Ashley acknowledges that mental health needs come from a variety of spaces and experiences in life. Because of this, she utilizes an existential lens in her work with clients,and partners with them on their journey through healing and growth. Ashley is particularly interested in working with adults, teens, and those looking to make life changes. She believes there is importance in providing a collaborative approach and emphasizes the relationship component to an individual's therapeutic alliance while partnering with them through their growth journey. With over ten years of experience, Ashley specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety, depression, and trauma. She prioritizes collaboration and believes that strengthening the therapeutic alliance is done by individuals participating in their treatment planning process. Ashley and her clients work together setting goals and providing feedback, ensuring therapy is tailored to their individual needs and preferences.
Brady W. Krakau, M.s., PLMHP
Brady Krakau graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha with a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. His approach to therapy is a focus on Cognitive and Dialectical Behavioral Therapies. A key component of Brady's approach to therapy is mindfulness; a technique that helps people become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses and is focused on increasing awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and actions that hinder progress. Brady has experience working with the Munroe-Meyer Institute in a behavioral health setting helping children and adolescents with ASD, ADHD, as well as adults who have experienced trauma, anxiety, and depression. Brady is welcome to working with clients of all ages, but is particularly focused on helping adults and teens.
Babies on the Farm!
Babies on the Farm!
Babies on the Farm!
Oscar and Ella are parents to five adorable chicks! Oscar who is usually running around being the loudest on the Farm, is not leaving the nest and is perfectly quiet. There are five total, some are brown/white and the others yellow
Accessible For All
Babies on the Farm!
Babies on the Farm!
UBU Therapy Farms is an inclusive care farm that was specially designed to meet the needs of individuals with a variety of disabilities. The farm has fully wheelchair accessible pathways, trails, barns and stables. We strive to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive space that promotes wellness for all people and diminishes barriers created by mental health stigmas.
Our Treatment Focus
Babies on the Farm!
Our Treatment Focus
Animal Assisted Therapy can be unforgettable, positive and life changing experience presented in a thoughtfully created and fully accessible setting. Animal Assisted Therapies, coupled with other therapeutic models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can help clients build greater resilience, confidence,
Animal Assisted Therapy can be unforgettable, positive and life changing experience presented in a thoughtfully created and fully accessible setting. Animal Assisted Therapies, coupled with other therapeutic models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can help clients build greater resilience, confidence, and independence. Clients will practice mindfulness, learn distress tolerance, improve interpersonal relationships and emotion regulation alongside our animal friends and growing gardens.
With these skills, clients will be more able to cope with whatever life challenges lay ahead. As a part of reaching therapy goals, clients will have an opportunity to engage in farming or horticultural activities including agricultural work, tending animals, garden work, and more. It is an incredibly rewarding way to reconnect with the earth, animals, nature and themselves.
UBU News
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
UBU Therapy Farms in Lincoln, Ne is currently accepting new clients of all ages. Contact Pamela Wheeler at 402-833-8160 for more information.
Our Gardens
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
The gardens are getting so full and starting to give us zucchinis, cucumbers and peppers. We are hoping to see some ripe tomatoes in the next week or so!
Our Animal Friends
New Clients and Group Visits Welcomed
Our Animal Friends
Patrick and Cocoa were instant friends when they met. They still spend almost all of their time right next to each other.
Our Therapy
Animal Assisted Therapies
UBU Therapy Farms offers clinical and therapeutic services and programs for children, teens and adults with unique needs in a safe, inclusive space. As licensed mental health therapists, we can help people who are coping with anxiety, depression, social difficulties, emotional problems, grief, trauma and negative self-esteem. We support those with autism, ADHD, and developmental disabilities. We are proud to support transgender, gender-expansive and non-binary people in our community.
Care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices for the purpose of providing a natural and positive teaching environment for the development of social skills, life skills, job skills. Care Farms provide supervised programs of farm related activities that include animal husbandry and cultivating plants.
The benefits of caring for animals can go beyond the human-animal bond by providing opportunities for meaningful occupations, mastery of tasks, leisure, relaxation and social growth.
Horticultural Therapies
A therapeutic garden is a plant-dominated environment purposefully designed to facilitate interaction with the healing elements of nature. Interactions can be passive or active depending on the garden design and users’ needs.
Horticultural therapy is rooted in the idea that interacting with plants can bring about well-being, whether it’s tending a garden or just having plants in your home.
Many studies have found that just being in nature – such as taking a walk through a garden, a park, a forest – can improve not only your state of mind but your blood pressure, your heart rate and your stress hormone levels and, over time, can lead to a longer life.
CBT and DBT Therapies
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on modifying dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and thoughts by interrogating and uprooting negative or irrational beliefs. Considered a "solutions-oriented" form of talk therapy, CBT rests on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a type of CBT. Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others.
About Us
Why UBU?
We chose the name UBU because it recognizes the importance of having respect for other people regardless of color, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disabilities, mental illness, and age. It serves as a reminder to care about others and to be kind whether you are talking to a clerk at the grocery store or a doctor in a hospital, and it encourages us to make a positive difference wherever we can.
The name UBU can also remind us that we are all connected and helps us realize that in many ways, our ability to get along with other people determines the kind of journey we have through life. With therapy, including mindfulness and learning new coping skills, this journey can be one filled with joy, happiness, and contentment. Working in a farm-based setting can help people reconnect to the earth, nature and animals is an incredibly rewarding way.
“While our setting is anything but conventional, the first of its kind in Nebraska, our programs and services are grounded in evidence and expertise. Our hope is that each person who steps foot on our farm will feel welcomed and comforted by our passion to support them and that they experience the sense of calm, comfort and safety that our animals can provide. Developing a bond with an animal can help children, teens and young adults develop a better sense of self-worth and trust, stabilize their emotions, and improve their communication, self-regulation, and socialization skills.”
A Therapy Farm Built on Access and Inclusion
UBU Therapy Farms has been featured by the Institute for Human-Animal Connection
