Why is Wilderness Therapy Successful?

Many researchers and practitioners alike have agreed that troubled adolescents can best benefit from a therapeutic regime if the following issues are addressed:

Secure Environment - Adolescents who feel unsafe and are preoccupied with physical and emotional safety cannot effectively focus energies on the change process; hence, a secure environment is fundamental to the treatment of all problems. In a wilderness therapy program, it is crucial to take just a few days to create that sense of security for the participants, so that they can spend most of their time actively dealing with their problems. This is promoted through skillful training in wilderness and self-care skills; clear behavioral expectations that are consistently, fairly, and firmly enforced. This allows each child to feel secure within a clear behavioral structure; and nurturing, parental-type support for all the participants, accompanied by healthy staff relationships, which serve as models and a source of security for the youngsters.

Predictability - One of the contributing factors to the acquisition and maintenance of emotional security is the ability to achieve a degree of predictability about the future and/or the consequences of behavior. When the expected behaviors are clear and are consistently and fairly enforced, the consequence of behavior become very predictable and provides the participant with a sense of security.

Sense of Achievement and Mastery - The outdoor living environment provides each participant with quick, clear feedback on the effectiveness of their self-care and hiking behavior. These natural rewards are, for many youngsters, even more meaningful than rewards provided by adults, and provide both short-term and long-term reinforcement. These reinforcements provide teens with a sense of achievement and of security, based on their own abilities to successfully meet their needs and manage their immediate life issues.

Consequential Feedback- Providing the participant with predictable verbal and consequential feedback regarding his or her behavior significantly contributes to the development of pro-social behavior. In addition, maladaptive adolescents learn through this process that behavior, both positive and negative, does not occur in a vacuum but impacts not only the self but also the therapeutic community as a whole.

Support and Reassurance - The fact that fellow participants and staff experience the same or similar challenges in coping with outdoor living provides the participant with a sense of camaraderie, and offers support for the process of overcoming failures and frustrations.

Real Life - Consequences are delivered not by people who can be dismissed as “having it in for you,” but by natural circumstances that occur when living in a wilderness environment. Staff members oftentimes mitigate a consequence. For example, a staff member may bring a cup of tea along to the wake-up call of a child who is struggling with homesickness and the difficulties of establishing a sense of independence and use the opportunity to use the opportunity to have a therapy session.