IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v105y2019ic4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Client perspectives on wilderness therapy as a component of adolescent residential treatment for problematic substance use and mental health issues

Author

Listed:
  • Harper, N.J.
  • Mott, A.J.
  • Obee, P.

Abstract

Wilderness therapy is a specialized approach to adolescent substance use and mental health treatment. While empirical evidence of positive outcomes grows to support this approach, qualitative understandings are lacking in the literature, thereby limiting theoretical explanations. Additionally, the voice of adolescent clients is hardly present, and was therefore the focus for this research. A sample of 148 adolescent wilderness therapy clients at one Canadian residential treatment program for addictive behaviour and mental health issues participated in the study. A realist approach utilizing thematic analysis of written open-ended responses produced six major themes; three depicting participant experiences (social dynamics, wilderness, catalyst for change) and three for perceived outcomes (skill development, self-concept, health). These findings are discussed in relationship to the development of a clinical model of wilderness therapy and the potential of wilderness interventions in adolescent residential treatment. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Harper, N.J. & Mott, A.J. & Obee, P., 2019. "Client perspectives on wilderness therapy as a component of adolescent residential treatment for problematic substance use and mental health issues," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-1.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:105:y:2019:i:c:4
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104450
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740919305018
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104450?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harper, Nevin J., 2017. "Wilderness therapy, therapeutic camping and adventure education in child and youth care literature: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 68-79.
    2. repec:mpr:mprres:6754 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tucker, Anita R. & DeMille, Steven & Newman, Tarkington J. & Polachi Atanasova, Christina & Bryan, Philip & Keefe, Mackenzie & Smitherman, Lee, 2023. "How adolescents view the role of the wilderness in wilderness therapy: “I am in the middle of nowhere and that is okay”," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Parry, Benjamin J. & Quinton, Mary L. & Holland, Mark J.G. & Thompson, Janice L. & Cumming, Jennifer, 2021. "Improving outcomes in young people experiencing homelessness with My Strengths Training for Life™ (MST4Life™): A qualitative realist evaluation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nagl-Cupal, Martin & Prajo, Natasa, 2019. "It is something special: How children and their parents experience a camp for young people who care for a parent with a severe physical illness," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Mats Jong & E Anne Lown & Winnie Schats & Michelle L Mills & Heather R Otto & Leiv E Gabrielsen & Miek C Jong, 2021. "A scoping review to map the concept, content, and outcome of wilderness programs for childhood cancer survivors," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. McCarthy, Lauren Pryce & Lee, Bethany R. & Schagrin, Judith & Loysen, Susan, 2020. "“Knowing that I wasn’t alone”: An evaluation of a therapeutic camp reunifying siblings in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Tonje H. Stea & Miek C. Jong & Liv Fegran & Ellen Sejersted & Mats Jong & Sophia L. H. Wahlgren & Carina R. Fernee, 2022. "Mapping the Concept, Content, and Outcome of Family-Based Outdoor Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Problems: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-22, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:105:y:2019:i:c:4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.