Psychological effects of an adventure therapy program in the treatment of substance use disorders. A Greek pilot study

ABSTRACT

The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a short-term adventure therapy program on the self-esteem and self-efficacy of individuals in treatment for substance use disorders. Adventure-based therapy intervention is an experiential approach, utilized by mental health clinicians, which can be used as a clinical tool to promote therapeutic change in participants. In this light, this pilot study investigated the effects of a 5-day adventure therapy program on the psychological resources of self-esteem and self-efficacy of drug addicts under recovery. Pre and post data were collected from 14 ex-drug addicts utilizing two self-report instruments: General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Self-Esteem Scale. The t-tests and the effect sizes indicated that there is a statistically significant increment in the self-esteem (p <.032, d =.73) and self-efficacy (p <.026, d =.93) of the participants, supporting, that adventure therapy interventions can work an alternative to or as a complementary therapeutic tool to use into traditional addiction recovery counseling.

KEYWORDS:

• Addiction counseling
• adventure therapy
• substance use disorder
• self-efficacy
• self-esteem