Benefits and practices of adventure therapy for adults

How does a secure wilderness environment, where one feels safe and all needs are met, affect one's mental state? Building on this topic, what are some effective practices used to achieve a positive impact on one's mental state? Through further understanding of this topic, we can better design effective programs for facilitating therapy within a wilderness setting that would most benefit the participants. There are many benefits of adventure therapy including the presence of a wilderness environment and the use of adventure activities. These factors help to increase the effectiveness of the therapy sessions given in these programs. Currently, there is very little research available as to what are the most effective practices for adventure therapy programs. To gain a better understanding of the practices and techniques that are currently being used, a short questionnaire was sent out to Canadian adventure therapy companies. Data from this questionnaire and the literature showed that hiking is the most effective activity to use in adventure therapy programming. As well, the ideal length of a trip can vary for markets but ranges from 1 to 10 days. The ideal group size also varies with the market and can be anywhere from 4-10 participants with a ratio of 2:1 participants to instructor or higher for more independent markets. Overall, there are many different markets that can benefit from adventure therapy and the exact programming will shift to best suit each market.