About Hugh D. Watt, MSW, LCSW

Hugh earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Denver in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). He became the Clinical Director of the 400-bed residential substance abuse program called Con-Quest, the largest residential program in the State of Utah. Prior to leaving this position, he received the prestigious Director’s Award from the Utah Department of Corrections for transforming a struggling program into a Therapeutic Community program with less than 30 percent recidivism. 

Hugh then began working as a U.S. Probation Officer and approves and coordinates sex offender, mental health, and substance abuse treatment for all federal felons releasing from prison in his state. He is a former University of Utah board member having served on the Institutional Review Board (IRB). His more than twenty years of clinical experience has required him to complete both the State of Utah Corrections and Federal Law Enforcement Training (FLETC) academies. While working as a U.S. Probation Officer, he was a founding member of the federal drug court program called Reentry Independence through Sustainable Efforts (RISE) and a former Co-Chair to the U.S. Chief District Court Judge, Assisting Reentry to our Communities (ARC) program. He has been certified as a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team member for law enforcement. 

 As a licensed clinician for more than 20 years and federal probation officer for 16 years, I have unique insight into the worst trials and traumas people experience in life. I attempt to simplify learning in a way that has allowed me to successfully help others to understand that trials and trauma in life can produce Post-Traumatic Growth. 

Hugh has presented to many large groups to include the American Probation and Parole Association, Correctional Education Association Leadership Forum and the National Forensic Counselors Association. He has been married for more than 28 years and has three sons.

These books will show you how to symbolically use the process of collecting maple tree sap as a way to overcome your trials. A sugar maple tree needs to be tapped in order to collect sweet sap, which is hidden inside the tree. This sap is then processed into maple syrup. Much like the process it takes to actively drill into a maple tree to get to the sap, a Trial Tapper is someone who recognizes that answers and growth come from within a person when they choose to take one of several proven paths after any trial. Over time, a Trial Tapper grows stronger and wants to share those positive paths with the world. 

Trial Tappers take positive steps away from being a victim and towards being a survivor. We can use positive actions and choose to take one of several proven paths to become stronger after any trial. A Trial Tapper will use one of the TAPs in this book to move away from pain and towards hope.