Unit 2 Learning Activity 2.3

The Impact of Wilderness Therapy: Utilizing an Integrated Care Approach

Authors:

Anita Tucker, PhD, LICSW is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of New Hampshire. She is also the Chair of Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group of Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

Christine Lynn Norton, PhD, LCSW is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Texas State University. She is also a member of the AEE Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group’s Leadership Council, and a Research Scientist with the Outdoor Behavioural Healthcare Center.

Steven M. DeMille, PhD, LCMHC, is the Research Director and therapist at RedCliff Ascent, and Outdoor Behavioural Healthcare program.

Jessalyn Hobson is a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire in the dual masters program in Social Work and Kinesiology: Outdoor Education.

Is the source up to date?

Yes, it was first published in 2015.

What are the intentions of the author? Who is the intended audience?

The article is for mental health professionals and others that are concerned with the physical and mental development and well being of adolescence. The authors examine the changes in body composition of youth taking part in wilderness therapy along with mental health outcomes.

Publication type/Process – Who published the article? Was the article peer reviewed?

The article was published through the Journal of Experiential Education, which is peer-reviewed scholarly journal covering a broad range of topics such as “outdoor adventure programming, service learning, environmental education, therapeutic applications, research and theory, the creative arts, and much more.” (http://www.aee.org/jee)

Are there any obvious biases and/or special interests that the author acknowledges?

The authors of the study acknowledged potential biases or conflict of interest as Steven DeMille is employed by RedCliff Ascent, where the date was collected. However, DeMille was not involved in the collection or analyzes of data.

 

References

Tucker, A., Norton, C. L., DeMille, S. M., & Hobson, J.. (2015) The Impact of Wilderness Therapy: Utilizing an Integrated Care Approach. Journal of Experiential Education, 39 (1), 15 – 30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825915607536