Wilderness Treatment Programs
Taking therapy out of the hospital and into the mountains transforms the clinical experience into something more powerful, and lasting. It's easy to dismiss someone's words, experiences are much harder to ignore. Doing more than you thought you could, trusting a group of your peers while in the wilderness and working as a team on basic survival tasks – these experiences ready a person for transformational change.
In a hospital setting, a younger person might dismiss the words of an older clinician, but the wilderness demands respect and attention. In the wilderness, people that don't provide for themselves and for their group end up in tough situations. Nature doesn't blame or judge and you can't say that "it picks on you" but if you fail to meet your responsibilities, you will pay a consequence. In nature, people become responsible for their own actions; or they sleep in the rain!
Good therapists work hard to develop a rapport with their clients, knowing that the better the relationship, the more effective the therapy. Therapists who double as guides and who work and play alongside their clients for weeks can't help but develop professional but also personal relationships, and this combination allows for incredibly effective therapy and in many cases, client breakthroughs.
Search the directory of wilderness and adventure programs listed below. The programs listed are many of the country's finest and take place across some of America's most beautiful natural environments. Although wilderness program participants will push boundaries, personal safety is everyone's first and foremost concern, and every program listed displays impressive safety statistics.
Four Circles Recovery
Four Circles Recovery Center offers a unique therapeutic wilderness program for 18 – 28 year old men and women that combines traditional counseling, experiential therapies and the 12 steps with outdoor therapy and adventure activities.
