What Is Wilderness Therapy for Troubled Girls from Westport, WA?

Wilderness therapy is an adventure-based, outdoor-residential therapy used to address underlying mental, emotional, and even spiritual issues that cause self-destructive living habits in troubled girls (including those from Westport, WA).

What sets wilderness programs apart from other types of residential treatment is that the entire healing process takes place outdoors in a natural, wild environment - typically, many miles removed from civilization, even hundreds of miles removed from Westport, WA.

While no two programs are the same, most top-tier wilderness programs utilize similar psychiatric treatments such as experiential, group, mindfulness-based, and cognitive behavior therapies.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Wilderness Therapy Programs for Troubled Teens From Westport, WA

While wilderness therapy programs may sound intriguing, adventurous, and therapeutically innovative at face value, parents from Westport, WA should keep some things in mind during the selection process.

Wilderness Therapy is Almost Always Used as a Preliminary Treatment

According to a recent statistical analysis of the 28 recognized wilderness therapy programs, 80% of enrolled teens on to an additional residential treatment program. In other words, wilderness therapy programs are primarily used as a 'first step' in treatment rather than a one-stop therapeutic destination.

 Additionally, many wilderness programs are partnered with other traditional, indoor residential treatment programs that recommend a teen go back and go through wilderness treatment if said program deems the student is not ready to participate in their residential program.

They are also relatively small in size and short compared to other, more mainstream residential treatment centers.

Like most treatment centers, there are varying styles and levels of treatment at a wilderness program. Depending on factors such as one's age and reasons for being treated, behavioral and mental health interventions may include individualized treatment, group and/or family therapy sessions, medication management, family-repair workshops, drug and alcohol detoxification, and one-on-one therapy sessions with a mental health professional - to name a few.

Proponents of adventure-based therapy claim that wilderness is effective in modifying one's behavioral patterns due to a combination of being immersed in the natural and wild environment (removing oneself from all distractions of the outside world) and implementing modern therapies.