Mental health issues among adolescents are on the rise. More children than ever before have been diagnosed with mood, anxiety, attention, substance, and behavior disorders (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2006). One out of every four children in the United States meet criteria for a mental disorder that puts them at risk for severe impairment across their lifetime according to the National Comorbidity Survey (Merikangas et al., 2010). Such disorders often manifest in adolescence and childhood, which highlights the importance of early intervention and treatment (Merikangas et al., 2010). When psychological disorders become more severe than a family is capable of handling on their own, families who can afford the financial
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First, there is a wide body of literature that supports the benefits of nature to mental health (Davis 1998). A recent study found that spending 90 minutes walking outdoors compared to in an urban environments reduced rumination and lowered activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness (Bratman et al., 2015). An organic, expansive environment can play a key role in changing a client’s worldview and self-concept (Louv, 2005). The program consists of regular hiking and busting, where clients and field guides make fires out of sticks, a rock and bow that group members harvest and prepare themselves. During the course of their stay, most clients undergo a solo experience, an intervention modeled after the Native American Vision Quest, and spend up to three days alone in the woods (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002). Leaders of the field point to the role of wilderness in providing physical exercise (hiking), focused attention (busting) and time alone as key factors to client growth (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002). In fact, there is a large body of research showing that exercise can be as if not more effective in treating depression and anxiety than pharmacological treatment (Dey, 1994; Martinsen, 2008). Nature however, is just one of many factors that contribute to strong …show more content…
The Person-Centered Approach emphasizes genuineness on the part of the therapist and staff, unconditional positive regard toward the client, empathy on the part of the therapist and staff, and concreteness in the sense that staff, the therapist and group members can challenge clients from a place of care, and share their perceptions of clients behaviors (Rogers, 2012). Relationships established with field guides, based in the Rogerian approach, is consistently one of the primary reasons identified by clients as to why wilderness therapy helps (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002; Taniguchi et al., 2009; Norton et al.,
First, there is a wide body of literature that supports the benefits of nature to mental health (Davis 1998). A recent study found that spending 90 minutes walking outdoors compared to in an urban environments reduced rumination and lowered activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness (Bratman et al., 2015). An organic, expansive environment can play a key role in changing a client’s worldview and self-concept (Louv, 2005). The program consists of regular hiking and busting, where clients and field guides make fires out of sticks, a rock and bow that group members harvest and prepare themselves. During the course of their stay, most clients undergo a solo experience, an intervention modeled after the Native American Vision Quest, and spend up to three days alone in the woods (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002). Leaders of the field point to the role of wilderness in providing physical exercise (hiking), focused attention (busting) and time alone as key factors to client growth (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002). In fact, there is a large body of research showing that exercise can be as if not more effective in treating depression and anxiety than pharmacological treatment (Dey, 1994; Martinsen, 2008). Nature however, is just one of many factors that contribute to strong …show more content…
The Person-Centered Approach emphasizes genuineness on the part of the therapist and staff, unconditional positive regard toward the client, empathy on the part of the therapist and staff, and concreteness in the sense that staff, the therapist and group members can challenge clients from a place of care, and share their perceptions of clients behaviors (Rogers, 2012). Relationships established with field guides, based in the Rogerian approach, is consistently one of the primary reasons identified by clients as to why wilderness therapy helps (Russel & Phillips-Miller, 2002; Taniguchi et al., 2009; Norton et al.,