Adventure Therapy
International Adventure Therapy Conferences
Psychological Therapy Links
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What's New?
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Investigation of wilderness therapy, adventure therapy
& experiential education practices in Europe, UK & USA
(Paul Stolz, 2002, Report for Winston Churchill Memorial Trust,
Australia; .pdf)
An Australian report on wilderness and adventure therapy practices
in the US, UK and Europe, based on site visits
including the 2nd International Adventure Therapy Conference
(Germany), Youth Intensive Program (Austria), Brathay Training
Centre (UK), REAL School (USA), and Catherine Freer (USA). Provides
insightful comparative detail and comment on international
understandings and practices in adventure therapy.
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Adventure
therapy: State of the profession
(Lee Gillis, 2005, 4-6 February, 2005, Keynote address to the
AEE Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group, USA)
Gillis offers a critical, historical, and
solution-focused view of the current state of the adventure therapy
profession, suggesting it will need to foster research and theory in
particular, in order to survive and thrive.
- Adventure therapy helps mentally ill teenagers
Mick Bunworth, 6 December, 2004, TV Program Transcript, ABC Online, Australia)
The benefits of pushing body and soul to the limit in adventurous activities has, for some time now, been
considered a healthy tonic for the pressures of a busy life. But a clinical psychologist with a passion for the outdoors has found those
benefits now extend to the treatment of teenagers suffering mental illness. It's called Adventure Therapy and in some cases it's
replacing prescription drugs and counselling.
- Treatment effectiveness of Wilderness Adventure Therapy: Summary findings
(Simon Crisp & Cindi Hinch, 2004, YouthPsych Consulting Australia; [27 pages; zip/pdf])
Describes a 10-week part-time adolescent clinical treatment model. The program applies a "social-emotion
competency and coping skill framework to group based adventure experiences that are implemented in the field
by a psychologist". Summary research results based on Achenbach's Youth Self Report, including 3 month and
2 year followups with 39 adolescent outpatients, suggesting similar efficacy to pharmacological treatment of depression plus a range of
other therapeutic and protective benefits, including improved self-esteem. The study also reports positive
participant ratings and feedback on the program.
- Therapeutic Adventure Network
A resource website for adventure therapists in the South Pacific region.
This site provides information and resources to practitioners, participants, researchers
and others interested in the growing field of wilderness adventure therapy.
- So you want to be an adventure therapy worker?
(Seeking Active Employment, Queensland Government, Australia, 2004)
Adventure therapy workers use outdoor recreation
activities to help people develop as individuals and solve personal
problems. The work can be particularly demanding and you’ll need a degree
such as social work or psychology, excellent skills in counseling and
the ability and qualifications to lead a range of outdoor recreation
activities.
- Call for Presenters: 4th International Adventure Therapy Conference
(New Zealand, 1-5 February, 2006)
An international gathering of professional people working in the field
with different forms of adventure-related therapy and
researchers/academics. The theme is "Connecting with the Essence".
- Adventure therapy: Exploring the healing potential of the outdoors
(Kaye Richards, Brathay Hall, an update of a UK seminar, 14-15 December, 2002 [.pdf; 35kb])
Provides a rich overview which highlights
significant questions about what adventure therapy is, where it comes
from, where its going, and some of the diverse aspects of
adventure therapy which deserver further exploration. Richards
paints a picture of an international, diverse and growing field which
overlaps psychotherapy, adventure experiences, and ecopsychology.
- Working with substance abusing adolescents through Project Adventure
(Lee Gillis & Cindy Simpson, 1994, Addictions Looseleaf Notebook)
Gillis and Simpson's article is now a classic in the
annals of adventure therapy. It is the clearest and most
comprehensive description of how adventure-based counseling (ABC) can be
used for treating drug-addiction problems in youth. The article
outlines an ABC process with details of specific activities to stimulate
ideas about how experiential adventure programming can help to
facilitate positive insight and positive action for youth and families
struggling with drug-abuse.
- Family adventure therapy: Overview, theory & research
(James Neill, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center, April, 2004)
- Simon Crisp develops wilderness therapy certification in Australia
(The Outdoor Network October 21, 2003)
- Call for authors: International Adventure Therapy Handbook
(Eds Kaye Richards & Martin Ringer, September, 2003)
- Can Challenge Courses help overcome eating disorders?
(Yahoo News, October 22, 2003)
- Youth programs cut crime, costs
(DeAngelis, 2003, American Psychological Association Monitor, 34(7))
- Juveniles riot at Outward Bound
(Sun Herald, 29 July, 2003) Wilderness Therapy - Symposium & Training
September 26-28, Naropa University, Colorado, USA
- Sweat therapy heals traditionally
(Colmant, 2003, Sweat Magazine)
- Outdoor Behavioral Health Research Council launches research study
(StrugglingTeens.com)
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Links

Publications
- Best practices in Adventure Therapy in 2004 and 2010
(Mike Gass, 31 Jan, 2004, NATSAP Conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida, Powerpoint, 36 slides)
- Breaking down the stigma of mental illness through an adventure camp: A collaborative education initiative
Cynthia Stuhlmiller, Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health Journal Online, 2(2), 2003) [pdf; .2 MB]
- Wilderness therapy: An alternative treatment for adolescents[.pdf]
(Stacy Shaw, Spring, 2003, UCLA Undergraduate Psychology Journal)
- Do outdoor & adventure activities produce therapeutic gain?
(Poll by Ken Fraser)
- Adventure-based social work practice
(Tony Alvarez & Gary Stauffer, University of Michigan)
- Concrete interventions are crucial: The influence of the therapist's processing proposals on the client's intrapersonal exploration in client-centered therapy
(Sachse, 1990)
- Learning from the margins: The lessons of alternative schools
(Boss, 1998, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Summer)
- Client outcomes in therapeutic recreation
(Norm Stumbo (Ed.), 2003, Venture Publishing)
- Adventure as psychotherapy: A mental health perspective
(Berman & Berman, 1995, Journal of Leisurability, 22(2))
- Naturally high
Windana Wilderness Therapy Program, Victoria, Australia)
- Wilderness therapy vs. bootcamp
(crossroadsandbridges.com)
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