Adventure therapy and its impact on the functioning of youth in a community setting

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of one type of activity-based group work, adventure therapy (AT) group practice, on youth in a community-based mental health setting. Using data collected from Adventure Works, a nonprofit outdoor behavioral healthcare and adventure therapy counseling center, this article explores treatment outcomes to identify the effectiveness of adventure therapy group interventions. AT has been identified as an effective intervention within wilderness and residential settings, but little research exists focusing on adventure therapy in a community setting. Data collected shows positive outcomes for youth participating in adventure-based group therapy. Research and practice implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• adventure therapy
• adolescents
• outdoor behavioral healthcare
• community-based mental health
• group therapy

Disclosure statement

Patrick McMillion and Lynette Spencer are both paid employees of Adventure Works and Patrick was involved in data collection; however, neither were involved in the data analysis. No other conflicts exist.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center (14B921).