Background: Considering the sensitive ethical issues related to involuntary treatment of adolescents, research investigating youth transport practices and treatment outcomes is clearly needed. Youth transport is common practice in many private pay programs, including wilderness therapy programs. Objective: This study of 350 adolescents in…

Adolescents who are required to live away from their families of origin face many challenges that can affect mood and mental health. Milieu therapists (mental health associates) working with adolescents in a residential treatment center may be expected to provide group activities that promote mental health. It is important for new group leaders to…

The anthropomorphic paradigm in psychology and psychotherapy has prevented nature from being considered a factor in the curative relationship in adventure therapy. The effectiveness of therapeutic interventions are credited instead to human factors such as program design and facilitation. A paradigm shift is needed in adventure therapy to accept…

The article discusses how medicine men help members of their tribes cope with their emotional problems. (NQ)

Conducted two-year mental health intervention with older adults in six residential care facilities. Findings showed little intervention impact but revealed that residents treated were generally socially marginal with weak ego skills, rather that significantly mentally ill. Suggests more intensive program that restructures facility's milieu to…

Though wilderness therapy programs are growing in number and popularity, the theoretical basis for distinguishing wilderness therapy from traditional therapeutic modalities is lacking. Existing models describing the wilderness therapy process have been stage-based, meaning the process has been conceptualized as sequential and discrete. Lost in…

At a 2-day conference in Brathay, international practitioners and researchers met to determine a future direction for adventure therapy in the United Kingdom and internationally. Observations include the existence of "two camps"--adventure practitioners and therapists; and the need for the field to develop professional integrity and…

A national survey of outdoor behavioral healthcare programs that annually serve over 10,000 clients and their families found that over 80 percent of programs were licensed by state agencies. Private placements outnumbered adjudicated programs by nearly five to one, and less than 25 percent of client treatment costs were covered by insurance…

Describes some of the common elements in activities of non-therapeutic groups (such as Synanon Recovery, etc.) and suggests kinds of persons most likely to be helped by them. (CJ)

Examined in this document are four phases of what are referred to as the counter environment, a new system of beliefs and counter institutions to care for people. The topics studied fall into the general areas of education, therapy, health care, and utopias. Free schools are discussed in terms of varied definitions, historical growth, basic…

In the United Kingdom, no outdoor practitioner is working as a professional therapist and little formal training in outdoor therapy exists. Practice of this type requires supervision and professional accreditation. Interested undergraduates should check social work, probation, mental health, educational psychology, or occupational therapy…

USE OF A RESIDENCE HALL AS A THERAPEUTIC MILIEU FOR DISTURBED COLLEGE STUDENTS IS DESCRIBED IN THIS REPORT OF A RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION STUDY. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP CONSISTED OF TEN DISTURBED STUDENTS, AND A CONTROL GROUP WAS COMPOSED OF 10 VOLUNTEER STUDENTS. ALL STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE REGULAR RESIDENCE HALL PROGRAMS (ORGANIZATIONAL…

Contemporary society has trained us to prejudicially view and fear the sensual and nature as an enemy, villain, or child that must be developed, improved, or managed. By learning and teaching the Natural Systems Thinking Process, we may reverse destructive thinking by letting nature itself help us bring sensations and their integrity back into our…

This study promotes the natural world as a resource for personal growth. It stresses how nature may help individuals build responsible and fulfilling relationships and offers sensory activities which show how nature can lead people to emotional health by teaching them its "non-language communication." Once participants identify and…

An innovative therapeutic use of the wilderness environment was explored. A purely recreational outdoor camping program organized in 1971 for economically deprived youths subsequently developed into an outdoor therapeutic program designed for problem youth. The wilderness environment was employed as an effective treatment milieu for helping youths…