The Impact of Community Based Adventure Therapy Programming on Stress and Coping Skills in Adults (original) (raw)

Adventure as Therapy: A Map of the Field. Workshop Report

1994

This paper defines the field of adventure therapy and relates itto other types of adventure activities. Outdoor adventure may have recreational, educational, or enrichment goals that focus on having fun, increasing participant knowledge, or building skills such as communication in a target group. Adventure therapy, on the other hand, ha's the clear goal of engendering lasting personal change in participants. Characteristics of adventure therapy include assessment of participants before the adventure experience, preactivity discussion to predispose participants to personal c.hange, activities chosen specifically for their potential to engender personal change, and postgro/T reflection to help participants transfer changes to everyday life. Adventure therapy programs vary widely in the areas of professional context, underpinning therapeutic framework and epistemology, range of therapeutic techniques, client base and presenting problems, funding sources, types of activities, interrelationship with other programs, and program design. A chart outlines the basic principles, underlying assumptions, role of therapi.t, and role of insight in five types of therapies: insight-based therapies, "black box" therapies and other behaviorist models, systems-based therapies, experiential therapies, and psychodynamic therapies. (SV)

A Meta-Analysis of Adventure Therapy Outcomes and Moderators

The Open Psychology Journal, 2013

This study reports on a meta-analytic review of 197 studies of adventure therapy participant outcomes (2,908 effect sizes, 206 unique samples). The short-term effect size for adventure therapy was moderate (g = .47) and larger than for alternative (.14) and no treatment (.08) comparison groups. There was little change during the lead-up (.09) and follow-up periods (.03) for adventure therapy, indicating long-term maintenance of the short-term gains. The short-term adventure therapy outcomes were significant for seven out of the eight outcome categories, with the strongest effects for clinical and self-concept measures, and the smallest effects for spirituality/morality. The only significant moderator of outcomes was a positive relationship with participant age. There was also evidence that adventure therapy studies have reported larger effects over time since the 1960s. Publication bias analyses indicated that the study may slightly underestimate true effects. Overall, the findings provide the most robust meta-analysis of the effects of adventure therapy to date. Thus, an effect size of approximately .5 is suggested as a benchmark for adventure therapy programs, although this should be adjusted according to the age group.

The Ecology of Adventure Therapy: An Integral Systems Approach to Therapeutic Change

Ecopsychology, 2010

Currently, a fragmentation in ideas exists regarding understanding psychological wellness and preferred routes to healing. This is evident in current adventure therapy (AT) literature, where unique combinations of experiential learning, challenge activities, novel experiences, group work, and other psychological theories are often used to account for positive outcomes and to explain mechanisms for change. Rarely is contact with wilderness environments included as an important variable associated with positive outcomes and change. AT has been rightly criticized for not recognizing the ecological paradigm of therapy conducted in wild nature. By including principles from integral systems theory, we offer adventure therapists a map, allowing for these seemingly disparate parts to fit together into a coherent whole. In addition, we propose that wilderness is a crucial cofacilitator in the change process. If seriously considered, these ideas pose a number of important questions for AT theory and practice.

Looking at the landscape of adventure therapy: making links to theory and practice

Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 2011

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Directory of Experiential Therapy and Adventure-Based Counseling Programs

1992

This directory lists 257 organizations with therapeutic adventure and experiential programs for special needs populations. The information was generated from a survey of members of the Association for Experiential Education. Special needs populations include youth-at-risk, persons with addictions, juvenile and adult offenders, inpatient and outpatient psychiatric patients, sexual victims and perpetrators, developmentally disabled persons, physically handicapped persons, and minority groups. The range of adventur and experiential activities include wilderness-based activities such as camping, backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, rappelling, and rafting; residential camps; urban adventure programs; indoor and outdoor group initiatives and ropes courses; expressive arts; Native American ceremonies; farming and gardening; and environmental education. The directory lists organizations in alphabetical order and includes organization address and phone number; name of program director; number of staff members; populations served; average length of program; number of clients per year; types of experiential and adventure activities; program profiles; therapeutic goals of the program; counseling orientation and philosophy; and counseling education and training of the staff. index lists programs by state. (LP)

Adventure Therapy - Using adventurous activities as Occupational Therap

Whilst there is no one definition of adventure therapy, it commonly utilises adventure based activities, experiential learning theory and outdoor environments to facilitate a therapeutic effect. Adventure therapy is an emerging intervention utilised by mental health clinicians, often within services for youth. This qualitative descriptive study explored the fit between occupational therapy and adventure therapy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine the practice and use of theory with seven New Zealand occupational therapists who use adventure therapy. There are practice and philosophical elements of adventure therapy that are compatible with occupational therapy, including therapeutic use of activity. Differences occur in that adventure therapy purposefully utilises novel activities and environments, and that these activities are often prescribed. This paper presents the findings with a particular emphasis on the value of activity as therapy. Whilst not the whole of occupational therapy, adventure therapy can be utilised as an approach to practice. Adventure based activities are not usual everyday activities for most clients, or usual occupational therapy practice. However as an intervention it is attractive to youth. It is argued that adventure therapy is a powerful example of the use of activity as a means to an end. Occupational therapists are well positioned to use adventure therapy as a component of their overall occupational therapy practice.