Wilderness adventure therapy may be especially well suited for youth with more serious psychological symptoms.

Both short- and long-term effects of a 10-week standardized Wilderness Adventure Therapy (WAT) program were studied using six different self-report questionnaires addressing psychological and behavioral functioning of adolescents (ages 12 – 18 years) experiencing a range of symptoms from non-clinical to clinically significant. These measures were administered to thirty six participants at three different times: pre-program, post-program and at a three-month follow-up. The participants were out-patients of a mental-health program in Victoria, Australia who required more intensive treatment than traditional therapy approaches. The most common primary reason for referral to the program was conduct/behavior issues. Other reasons for referral were depression, anxiety, identify/self-esteem, relationship problems, and psychosis.

The WAT model emphasizes development of social-emotional competencies and coping skills through group-based adventure experiences which typically include such outdoor adventure activities as rock climbing, rafting, and caving.

An analysis of the data indicated that participants experienced a small, positive, statistically significant improvement in psychological functioning and moderate, positive, statistically significant improvement in psychological resilience, depression, and social self-esteem. There were non-significant improvements in emotional, behavioral, and social functioning. For the most part, these changes were still evident at the three-month follow-up. Additionally, there was a moderate statistically significant longer term reduction in suicidality.

A separate analysis of participants who had more severe forms of mental health issues before the program indicated large, positive, and statistically significant improvements in symptoms of depression and behavioral and emotional functioning. These improvements were retained at the three-month follow-up. The authors concluded that WAT may be especially well suited to treating participants with clinically significant psychological symptoms and that WAT is as effective as traditional psychotherapeutic approached for such youth.