The purpose of this study was to explore the potential benefits of a primitive wilderness skills intervention (POST) on the therapeutic change process of adolescent females enrolled in a residential treatment center. A qualitative data analysis approach was used. A convenience sample of eight female adolescents was selected by therapist referral. The data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Data analysis was used to assess participants' progress in the therapeutic change. Further analysis revealed a core theme connecting participants' POST experience with feelings of self-empowerment and reflective connections to their individual therapeutic change process. Constructive enabling was the gerund provided to represent this core theme. Attributes of constructive enabling included the opportunity for creative expression, the recognition of and reliance on social resources, the application of individual effort in challenging situations, the completion of a finished product, and the facilitation of reflective thought.

Background: With current environmental issues of light pollution as a point of departure, this thesis draws a link between Western society’s subjugation of darkness within personal and collective psyches, and the harmful impacts caused by the decline of Natural Darkness (ND) at night, via the use of artificial light. Purpose of Research: Global and societal issues related to light pollution, viewed through a Jungian ecopsychological framework, led to the exploration of reintegrating ND within the human psyche through outdoor, overnight therapeutic practices in wilderness settings. Methods Used: Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with eight participants who described their memories with ND during overnight therapeutic wilderness experiences. Findings: Participants assigned ND with characteristics including spaciousness, magical, enveloping, and being cocoon-like; and described experiences of reduced boundaries, increased fear, feelings of interconnection, as well as greater connection to the spiritual realm and to unprocessed psychological material. Conclusion: Findings suggest that, for this sample, ND provided conditions for rest, spiritual connection and the processing of psychological material. / Graduate

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to gain a deep understanding of the shared experiences of therapists who provide counseling in non-traditional, natural environment settings. Eight participants shared their experiences about counseling in nature. The primary research question for this study was: What are the shared experiences of counselors who provide nature-based counseling? A review of the literature of nature-based counseling provided benefits to spending time in nature, descriptions of various types of nature-based counseling, and ethical and legal issues that affect nature-based counselors. Semi-structured interviews comprised of open-ended questions were used to collect data by phone and through the use of video conferencing software. Audio taped interviews were transcribed and analyzed for key words, descriptive terms, and themes. Additional materials provided by counselors were analyzed for themes and overarching themes. A cross-case analysis yielded seven super-ordinate themes. The research question and sub-questions were addressed by the super-ordinate themes. The super-ordinate themes are: 1) Major Tenets, 2) Training and Ethical Concerns, 3) Benefits, 4) Motivations for Using Nature, 5) Beliefs About Human Connection With Nature, 6) Counselor’s Role, and 7) Spirituality. I employed validation procedures throughout my research to ensure accuracy during the data interpretation, which included clarification of my biases, member checking, peer debriefing and peer review, and the use of “thick, rich description.” Implications for counselors and counselor educators are presented, with recommendations for further research. Personal reflections of the researcher were provided.

Psykisk ohälsa bland ungdomar ökar runt om i världen och det blir allt viktigare att hitta alternativ för behandling av psykiska ohälsa. Friluftsterapi ger ungdomar möjlighet att komma bort från destruktiva miljöer samtidigt som man undviker begränsningarna i traditionell terapi. Friluftsterapi är en form av gruppterapi där ungdomar ställs inför utmaningar i en friluftsmiljö. Även om friluftsterapi som terapiform ökar runt om i världen saknas fortfarande forskning ur ett svenskt perspektiv. Syftet med studien är att belysa vad friluftsterapi kan bidra med i arbetet med barn och ungdomar med psykisk ohälsa, samt vilka möjligheter och hinder det finns att utföra friluftsterapi. Studien är en kvalitativ litteraturstudie, och genom en tematisk innehållsanalys analyserades 12 artiklar. För att genomföra analysen har symbolisk interaktionism och anknytningsteoretiskt perspektiv använts som ett teoretiskt ramverk. Resultatet av studien visar både positiva såväl som negativa effekter av friluftsterapi. För att en implementering av friluftsterapi ska kunna ske krävs vidare forskning inom ämnet med ett särskild fokus på svenskt sammanhang. / Mental illness among adolescents is increasing around the world. It is becoming more and more crucial to find alternatives for treating mental illnesses. Wilderness therapy gives adolescents the opportunity to get away from destructive settings while avoiding the limitations of traditional therapy. Wilderness therapy is a form of group therapy where adolescents are faced with challenges in an outdoor environment. Even though wilderness therapy is increasing within the field of mental health treatment, there is still a lack of research from a Swedish perspective. This study aims to shed light on what wilderness therapy can contribute to the treatment of adolescents with mental illness, and what opportunities and obstacles there are to use wilderness therapy. The study is a qualitative literature review, and through a thematic content analysis, 12 articles were analysed. To implement the analysis, the symbolic interactionism and attachment theory have been used as a theoretical framework. The result of the study shows both positive effects of wilderness therapy, as well as negative ones. To prescribe an implementation of wilderness therapy, further studies on the subject are called for with a special focus based on the Swedish context.

Aim of the thesis: The aim of the diploma thesis is the analysis of a questionnaire survey before and after the implementation of a boating tourist event with people with spinal cord lesions, including the formulation of recommendations for practice, which result from this survey. How to possibly eliminate discrepancies in expectations or possible barriers in the implementation of one's own action. The obtained results will point to the perception of the whole event and also to the trends in the organization of boating events for people with spinal cord injuries. I assume that my own research will reveal the potential of positive emotions and motivation of each new participant for self-realization at outdoor events. Comparison of the results of my research with research dealing with similar research topics. Methodology: theoretical-empirical work of a qualitative nature using data collection methods: semi-structured questionnaire of own design, STAI questionnaire. Number of participants 7, age 18 and more (according to registration for the course), the participation of people with spinal cord lesions who have already completed this course in previous years and also the participation of those who have not yet participated in the river rafting course and their experience will be compared and...

Adventure-based programmes are one of the most exciting and effective intervention strategies that can influence youth-at-risk to make the right choices, guiding their development while simultaneously exposing them to positive values modeled by excellent people. Although adventure-based programmes are not a recent phenomenon in South Africa, very few research studies have been undertaken regarding this phenomenon. The aim of this research was to explore and describe the nature, requirements and limitations of adventure-based programmes to youth-at-risk. The main goal of the research was to develop guidelines for intervention through adventure-based programmes for youth-at-risk, based on a literature study and empirical research that was undertaken. Adolescents are becoming increasingly involved in high-risk behaviour, compromising their health, future and lives. Multi-professional interventions are necessary to address the issues and problems children and youth experience. Adventure-based programmes offers a solution and many skills necessary for successful living appear to be inherent to adventure-based learning: self-esteem, communication, problem-solving, group living, responsibility, spirituality, confidence. Facilitating adventure-based experiences to youth-at-risk is no simple task and the outdoor leader needs to be trained to deal with many forms of anti-social and other negative behaviour that could include aggression, disobedience, hyperactivity smoking, etc. It is clear from the research results that adventure-based programmes encompasses much more than simply offering activities in the outdoors to participants. Adventure-based activities can only be optimized to the level of an educational tool through purposeful planning, debriefing, follow up and evaluation. Many different terms are used to describe essentially similar outdoor programmes: adventure education, environmental education, experiential education, wilderness therapy, organized camping, outdoor education. Social workers, because of their broad, value based approaches and extensive training, is well equipped, if not best equipped of all professions, to play an active role in the development of adventure-based programmes to youth-at-risk; be it in developing and offering programmes, training staff to work with youth-at-risk or as staff member during an adventure-based programme. Adventure-based programmes as model of experiential education, offers the social worker an alternative intervention strategy to achieve psycho-social and competency outcomes with youth-at-risk. / Thesis (MA (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

La thérapie par le plein air représente une alternative aux programmes d’intervention conventionnels pour jeunes antisociaux. Elle donne à ses participants l’occasion de modifier leurs pensées et leurs comportements dans un contexte d’expédition, à travers la participation à diverses activités de plein air. Ce faisant, ils développent leur répertoire d’habiletés personnelles et sociales, ce qui pourrait faciliter le désistement d’une conduite antisociale. Un devis expérimental prospectif, avec pré-test et post-tests à trois et six mois, a été utilisé afin d’évaluer l’effet de la durée d’une intervention de thérapie par le plein air sur le niveau d’antisocialité et l’insertion socio-professionnelle de jeunes contrevenants. De plus, l’effet potentiellement médiateur des progrès réalisés au chapitre des habiletés interpersonnelles et de la motivation d’accomplissement a été examiné. Un échantillon de 220 jeunes contrevenants a été observé, divisé aléatoirement selon deux conditions expérimentales, soit un programme de 8 à 10 jours et un programme de 17 à 20 jours. Il apparaît que la durée n’a pas d’effet direct significatif sur le niveau d’antisocialité et l’insertion socio-professionnelle des participants. En revanche, la durée du programme a un effet positif indirect sur le niveau d’antisocialité subséquent des participants, à travers l’amélioration des habiletés interpersonnelles et la motivation d’accomplissement des sujets. Aucune des variables mises en jeu n’a eu un impact significatif sur les progrès observés au niveau de l’insertion socio-professionnelle des sujets. La thérapie par le plein air semble favoriser le désistement d’une conduite antisociale en encourageant le développement de certaines habiletés personnelles qui font habituellement défaut chez les jeunes antisociaux. / Wilderness therapy is an alternative to more traditional interventions for antisocial youth. This expedition-based intervention requires participation in various outdoor activities, through which participants have the opportunity to modify thought patterns and behaviors. In doing so, they broaden their existing, and often poor, repertoire of personal and social skills, heightening the possibilities of desistence from an antisocial path. An experimental and prospective design, with pre-test and post-tests at three and six months, was used to evaluate the influence of the length of the program on the antisociality and socio-professional status of young offenders. The potential impact as mediators of interpersonal skills and accomplishment motivation was also observed. A sample of 220 young offenders was used, which was divided at random into two conditions; a program lasting between 8 to 10 days or one lasting between 17 and 20 days. Length of program had no direct and significant influence on the antisociality levels or the socio-professional status of the participants. However, length had a positive indirect effect on lowering the level of antisociality of the subjects, through the development of their interpersonal skills and accomplishment motivation. None of the variables had a significant impact on the socio-professional status progress noted for most subjects. Wilderness therapy appears to support young offenders in desisting from an antisocial pathway by facilitating the development of personal and social skills.

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This thesis is an exploratory look into the use of mindfulness practice on in-depth nature experiences to determine if the practice has benefit to the participant, their outdoor experience, and overall connectedness with nature. An original research project examined three groups of adolescents from St. Michaels University School Outdoor Education program in Victoria, BC, Canada, as they hiked the Juan de Fuca trail. Two of the three groups undertook a simple mindfulness protocol to explore the outcomes. Based on participant-observation and interviews, mindfulness practice was determined to be a useful practice towards alleviating stress and anxiety associated with aspects of in-depth outdoor experiences, such as morning preparations. Participants who practiced mindfulness on the trip asked fewer questions about the future and remained present more often than those who did not practice mindfulness. A further finding was that there are aspects of mindfulness inherent in in-depth nature experiences, such as sitting around a fire. These inherent mindfulness moments should be encouraged as they provide benefit to trip experiences, and potentially towards greater connectedness with nature. Overall, this qualitative study suggests that mindfulness is a useful tool for the benefit of human well-being and nature connection. However, more research is needed to further identify the magnitude and mechanisms of the benefit. / Graduate