Families that enroll their children in wilderness therapy typically do so after exhausting less intensive therapeutic options, yet reputable programs work with families throughout the process, whether through admissions counseling to help detach unhealthy excuses or through family workshops held during or after enrollment.
1. Counseling
Many parents searching for alternatives to wilderness therapy for their struggling teenager or young adult may find counseling is the better solution. Wilderness therapy programs can be expensive and don’t always work; while counseling costs significantly less while being proven effective.
Wilderness therapy (or outdoor behavioral health), is a clinically structured program typically lasting 8-12+ weeks that involves group backpacking and camping trips accompanied by licensed therapists to facilitate therapeutic processes and facilitate growth for participants in terms of leadership abilities, interpersonal relations skills, navigating group dynamics and building resilience while creating an increased sense of self.
Wilderness therapy typically isn’t the first intervention that teens and young adults will undergo in treatment; typically they will first attend group or family therapy, partial hospitalization programs or intensive outpatient programs; sometimes hospitalization may even occur before wilderness therapy can become an appropriate solution. Wilderness therapy should then become part of an individual’s plan who are failing to function at home, school or social groups.
Research indicates that teens enrolled in wilderness therapy programs can experience significant improvements in their behavior, relationships, self-image and sense of purpose, but only if they meet certain clinical criteria. Unfortunately, however, studies revealed no difference or worse still, experienced long-term trauma due to participation.
Wilderness therapy has also been known to damage families as well as its student. Examples include involuntary transport that families perceive as similar to kidnapping; or their son or daughter emerging from wilderness therapy lacking resilience and feeling abandoned by his or her parents. Such experiences have prompted Breaking Code Silence’s founder Liz Johnson, to form Breaking Code Silence which advocates on behalf of those impacted by troubled teen industries – though she unfortunately lost her son eight years later due to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE – associated with contact sports); thus leading her into wilderness therapy programs herself and eventually taking him through wilderness therapy programs before it became obvious
2. Family Therapy
Wilderness therapy techniques such as examining family patterns and developing new communication skills can also be applied to other forms of counseling. One way to make relationships healthier is through recognizing and changing negative patterns; such as when someone assumes the worst about another. By seeking counseling to address such concerns, family members can begin viewing each other in more positive ways.
Wilderness therapy can be beneficial to many, but when enrolling a child it’s essential to carefully assess its risks and benefits before making your decision. Reports have surfaced of teen deaths from wilderness therapy programs as well as long-term trauma due to participation. Furthermore, research indicates that many kids sent into wilderness therapy do not meet medical standards for residential treatment – possibly leaving out worse off than when they entered.
If you’re considering wilderness therapy programs, make sure they have national accreditation from an accrediting body and ask specific questions about their interactions with families. Reputable programs will make it clear that parents must participate in their child’s treatment and that family bonds are an essential component of healing processes.
Wilderness therapy (also referred to as outdoor behavioral healthcare) has steadily evolved over time into a comprehensive form of treatment that is both clinically-oriented and family therapy-centric. It’s supported by ample scientific evidence, including numerous randomized, controlled clinical trials conducted with groups with similar issues (for instance children who steal compulsively), where half receive standard psychotherapy while half undergo wilderness therapy; scientists then track results to determine which is more successful.
Reputable wilderness therapy programs leverage nature as a powerful catalyst for change, providing challenges and learning opportunities to enable participants to discover their strengths and become more independent. Furthermore, such programs often teach environmental stewardship practices to foster responsibility and long-term thinking – something in line with therapeutic goals while helping develop life skills that will benefit participants throughout their lives.
3. Group Therapy
Group therapy sessions can be an effective and transformative intervention that can address various issues and challenges for adolescents and teens. By sharing their struggles and successes in an accepting and safe environment, adolescents and teens can find support while learning from each other’s experiences as they gain new insights about themselves and gain perspective about how best to address any ongoing difficulties in life.
Many wilderness therapy programs use group therapy as the centerpiece of their treatment approach, with effective wilderness programs typically providing both individual and group sessions with licensed therapists.
Wilderness therapy also offers family members an opportunity to be an active part of their loved one’s treatment program, offering healing and developing healthy communication skills while simultaneously creating positive change across all of the family system.
Children typically enroll in wilderness therapy via involuntary youth transport – taking them away from home without parental permission and often from someone with training in wilderness therapy – known as involuntary youth transport. For this reason, many parents prefer more conventional residential treatment facilities or boarding schools as an option.
Wilderness therapy’s aim is to facilitate positive behavioral change and boost mental wellbeing by immersing participants in nature. Furthermore, programs utilizing wilderness therapy aim to replace negative coping behaviors with healthy self-management techniques and social/emotional development skills.
Although research demonstrates the efficacy of wilderness therapy, there have also been reports of abuse and neglect by staff at these programs. Over a dozen teens have died while participating in wilderness programs since the early 1990s; furthermore, adults who went through wilderness therapy as teenagers say the experience left lasting trauma behind them.
Although wilderness therapy remains problematic, many programs have made reforms and become more transparent about their processes. Those that still operate with high levels of safety can receive accreditation from various national accrediting bodies. When selecting a wilderness therapy program for yourself or another, make sure to ask pointed questions about whether family involvement will be considered an essential element in its treatment plan.
4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an alternative form of psychotherapy or talk therapy, similar to wilderness therapy, that aims to change dysfunctional emotions and behaviors through altering thoughts and perceptions. CBT helps identify root causes of undesirable behaviour while providing techniques for dealing with them effectively. CBT seeks to assist individuals in learning how to cope with problems and cope with trauma effectively.
Wilderness therapy or outdoor behavioral healthcare programs take teens into the woods, mountains or desert to immerse them in nature for prolonged periods. Sessions usually include group and individual counseling with a counselor; children can be sent here for any number of reasons ranging from rebelling at school to diagnosed mental illnesses; they’re generally removed from distractions and negative influences in daily life while contact between family members remains limited.
Not much research exists into whether wilderness programs are effective; however, studies suggest they can enhance children’s confidence and cooperation. Unfortunately, most of the studies rely on entrance/exit surveys rather than more scientific approaches such as randomized controlled clinical trials for their findings; moreover there have been anecdotal and media reports of abuse; this includes one child dying after sleeping in his tent at one wilderness program in 2024.
Kids enrolled in wilderness programs may die due to dehydration, heat exhaustion, exposure and injuries from restraints. A government report revealed that deaths weren’t always properly reported and investigated; an effort called “Stop Institutional Abuse Act” introduced in Congress in 2023 to increase oversight and require better reporting was enacted but hadn’t taken effect as of recent.
Some proponents of wilderness therapy suggest it can help children build stronger senses of self-efficacy and internal locus of control by showing them they can overcome challenging situations. They argue it may even be more effective than traditional psychotherapy as it teaches people healthy techniques for dealing with emotions in safe ways; additionally it shows them the futility of acting out; acting out only ends up hurting themselves by acting out.
