Wilderness therapy

Wilderness therapy is a form of adventure therapy that relies on the natural aspects of a primitive outdoor sojourn or wilderness expedition. Wilderness therapy is often used for behavior modification by the families of young people. But the aims and methods of wilderness therapy don't center on behavior modification. Many wilderness therapy programs avoid what they view as manipulations, contrived activities, psychological games, and contrived consequences Harv|ANASAZI Foundation|1990. Most programs employ no force, confrontation, point or level systems, or other overt behavioral modification techniques or models. They stress assertiveness, open communication between staff and students, and are very group-oriented. It is very important to note that there are MANY models of wilderness therapy reflective of different programs.

Some "wilderness therapy programs trace their origins to outdoor survival programs that placed children in a challenging environment where determination, communication and team efforts were outcomes" Harv|Conner|2005. Alternately some programs are derived from a more ecopsychology perspective, according to the Director of the Wilderness Therapy Program at Naropa University, "through contemplative practice and the experiential outdoor classroom, students gain further self-awareness and the ability to respond to whatever arises in the moment" Harv|Piranian|2006. And according to the founders of ANASAZI Foundation "we learned that whenever we adopted what we have come to call 'contrived' experiences, the overall impact often diminished for the participants" Harv|ANASAZI Foundation|1990.

Controversy

Some programs which advertise as "wilderness therapy" are actually boot camps in a wilderness environment. These can sometimes be distinguished from other wilderness therapy by such programs promising behavior modification for troubled teens, but it is hard to tell just from the ads. Often one of the major differences between boot camps and wilderness therapy is the underlying philosophical assumptions (wilderness therapy being driven by the philosophy of experiential education and theories of psychology and boot camps being informed by a military model). Additionally most wilderness therapy programs have highly trained clinical staff either on the expedition or in active and ongoing consultation with the team. Boot camps may have no clinically trained staff working in the programs. Staff are often from a correctional or military background.

As in any type of treatment program, abusive situations have been reported and accidental deaths have taken place in some of these programs, although compared with similar outdoor adventure activities deaths are extremely rare. Among the most controversial programs have been those run by Steve Cartisano Harv|High Country News|1996 Harv|Samoan Observor|2000 or former Cartisano associates. There also exist "wilderness therapy" boot camps located outside the U.S. to avoid U.S. regulations, many of them unlicensed fly by night outfits. Such unlicensed outfits also exist in some U.S. states where the wilderness therapy industry is poorly regulated Harv|The Oregonian|2000 Harv|Outside magazine|1996.There is also controversy over whether parents should be allowed to force their child into a wilderness program, which is often the case. Apart from the thousands spent on the actual program (around $500/day), some parents pay a Teen escort company thousands to ensure that their child gets to the program by any means necessary.

October 2007 the United States Government Accountability Office had a hearing. In relationship with the hearing, they have issued a report about the wilderness therapy industry Harv|GAO|2007

After the Program

Many teens in wilderness programs report the experience as being positive, beneficial, and enjoyable. They learn independence, patience, assertiveness, self-reliance, and maturity; although it is unclear how long these changes last Harv|FamilyFirstAid|2004. Outcome studies have been completed Harv|OBHRC|2001 that show continued improvement in behavior one-year after attending wilderness therapy and new outcome studies are currently underway.

After a wilderness therapy program, students may return home or may be recommended for a therapeutic boarding school or an intensive residential treatment center belonging to the company that runs the wilderness program.

Parents and teens considering wilderness therapy programs should check them out thoroughly first, and be sure the program is a reputable one which does not use abusive techniques. A few wilderness programs have JCAHO, Council on Accreditation, and/or Association for Experiential Education accreditation, which requires thorough inspections to ensure the quality of the intervention and safety of services.

References

#Harvard reference
Last=ANASAZI Foundation
First=
Title=The Ten Guiding Principles
Year=1990
URL=http://www.anasazi.org/principles.html .
#Harvard reference
Last=Conner
First=Michael
Title=Wilderness Therapy Programs and Wilderness Boot Camps: Is there a difference?
Year=2005
URL=http://www.wildernesstherapy.org/Wilderness/WildernessVsBoot.htm .
#Harvard reference
Last=Piranian
First=Deb
Title=Dear Prospective Student
Year=2006
URL=http://www.naropa.edu/wilderness/ .
#Harvard reference
Last=Russell
First=Keith
Title=Study Shows Adolescents Doing Well One-Year After Wilderness Treatment
Year=2002
URL=http://www.obhic.com/oneyear.html .
#Harvard reference
Last=High Country News
First=Christopher Smith
Title=The rise and fall of Steve Cartisano
Year=1996
URL=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=1913 .
#Harvard reference
Last=Samoan Observor
First= Malifa, Savea Sano
Title=Troubled American teenagers in Paradise!
Year=2000
URL=http://www.teenliberty.org/Samoan.htm .
#Harvard reference
Last=The Oregonian
First=Gregory, Gordon
Title=Deadly discipline?
Year=2000
URL=http://www.teenliberty.org/deadly_discipline.htm .
#Harvard reference
Last=Outside magazine
First=Krakauer, Jon
Title=Loving Them to Death
Year=1995
URL=http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20Deaths%2010-95%20Outdoor.htm .
#Harvard reference
Last=The Outdoor Behavioral Research Counsel
First=Russell, Keith C., Ph.D
Title=Assessment of Treatment Outcomes in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare
Year=1995
URL=http://www.wilderness-therapy.org/Research/OBHICOutcomes.htm .
#Harvard reference
Last=(OBHRC) Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative
First=Various studies done on behalf of the industry
Title=OBHIC Research
Year=2001
URL=http://obhic.com/research/ .
#Harvard reference
Last=FamilyFirstAid
First=FamilyFirstAid
Title=Teen Wilderness Programs and Outdoor Schools
Year=2004
URL=http://www.familyfirstaid.org/outdoor.html .
#Harvard reference
Last=Report
First=GAO
Title=Residential Treatment Programs - Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth, Statement of Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director Forensic Audits and Special Investigations and Andy O'Connell, Assistant Director Forensic Audits and Specials Investigations, October 10
Year=2007
URL=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08146t.pdf .

External links

Wilderness therapy programs

*

Wilderness therapy education

* [http://www.naropa.edu/academics/graduate/psychology/tcp/wilderness/index.cfm Naropa University Wilderness Therapy Degree Program]
* [http://www.prescott.edu/academics/map/areas.html#abc Prescott College: Adventure-Based Psychotherapy]
* [http://www.indiana.edu/~top/ Indiana University - Certificate in Therapeutic Outdoor Programming]
* [http://www.ecopsych.com/ Project Nature Connect]

Watch organizations

* [http://www.isaccorp.org/ International Survivor Action Committee]
* [http://www.cafety.org/ Community Alliance for the fair and ethical treatment of youth]
* [http://www.caica.org/ Coalition against institutionalized child abuse]
* [http://www.paulareeves.com/ Paula Reeves - activist]
* [http://www.nospank.net/boot.htm Project Nospanks page about institutions]
* [http://www.geocities.com/wildernesstherapyinfo/wildernesstherapy.htm Wilderness therapy - parents info]
* [http://www.aee.org/ Association for Experiential Education] - Accredits Wilderness Therapy Programs