Wilderness Youth Programs

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Wilderness Youth Programs

Therapeutic wilderness youth programs, also known as Outdoor Education or Outdoor Therapy Programs, are strenuous outdoor camps designed to help kids with behavioral problems develop into mature, self-confident young adults.  “Students quickly learn how cooperation, responsibility for behaviors, and a strong work ethic can create a positive group environment where they can develop self-esteem and obtain greater self-knowledge.” (1)

Wilderness therapy begins with the removal of all distractions.  These distractions include friends, parents, electronic media, and all of the social pressures inherent in school and teenaged life.  “By removing the child from the home environment and all the influences of modern culture, such as parties, television, videos, and movies, the teen can explore his or her motives, behaviors, and attitudes that have been self-defeating.”(2)

One of the central purposes of wilderness youth programs is to pull the child out of his comfort zone, and to force him to reevaluate himself, his behavior, and the way he has previously chosen to interact with others.  Free of distractions and free of stimuli to which he has developed preprogrammed responses, the teenager starts afresh in an environment designed to teach self-awareness. “Teenagers with behavioral and emotional problems begin to explore their relationships with others and their issues with authority, peers, and family members. Positive peer pressure replaces negative peer pressure. The group encourages defiant individual teens to participate in the necessary activities for an outdoor wilderness experience.” (3)

Parents wondering if such therapy is effective might be interested in these findings from the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council, which reports, “Our results showed that kids enter wilderness treatment programs with scores of about 100 [note: 100 is the average Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ) score for adolescents admitted to a psychiatric hospital] … At discharge, ranging from three eight weeks later depending on the program, the parents scored their kids at about 49, just outside the normal community range.” (4)

This indicates that children enter the camps at hospitalization levels, and eight weeks later exhibit almost normal behavior.  Thus, wilderness youth programs clearly show some efficacy and are certainly worth investigating if you have a child with serious behavioral problems.

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Endnotes

  1. “What is wilderness therapy?” Wilderness Programs Info. 2010. Retr. 22 Mar. 2012 <http://www.wilderness-programs-info.com/wilderness.html>
  1. Ibid.
  2. Ibid.
  3. “Does Wilderness Treatment Work? Does It Last?” Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council. Undated. Retr. 22 Mar. 2012 <http://obhic.com/research/does-wilderness-treatment-work.html/>