Outdoor Adventure Therapy
Outdoor Adventure Therapy
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stresses that a holistic approach to treatment offers the best possible outcomes. Outdoor adventure therapy is an experiential treatment that’s been shown to help treat addiction when it’s used along with traditional “talk” therapies.
Experiential therapies are a type of complementary treatment that involves hands-on experiences to help people express difficult emotions and develop essential coping skills. Other examples of experiential therapies include art therapy, horticultural therapy and equine therapy.
Outdoor adventure therapy is a type of therapy that takes place during outdoor adventures. It’s an active approach to psychotherapy that involves engaging participants in activities like boating, hiking or climbing and then discussing their thoughts, emotions and reactions during the activity. Participants create meaning through the insights they gain by experiencing, discussing and then transferring the lessons learned into other areas of their lives.
A range of processes create real and meaningful change for those who participate in outdoor adventure therapy. For example, participants gain self-confidence through the successful mastery of a skill; identifying and developing similar skills they possess; re-evaluating irrational thoughts and beliefs about themselves; and applying skills and sub-skills to improve self-confidence in other areas, such as their relationships or career. A trained and qualified adventure therapist leads participants through this process as the adventure unfolds and during the intensive discussions that follow.
Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle
Educational theorist David Kolb writes that learning “is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” Experiential education only works if all four stages are involved. An outdoor adventure alone won’t precipitate learning or change without observing, conceptualizing, and applying the skills learned. His four-stage cycle embodies his theory on experiential learning:
- Concrete experience (do it), or the act of engaging in a new experience
- Reflective observation (talk about it), which involves actively observing and reflecting before, during and after the experience
- Abstract conceptualization(synthesize it), which is all about the reflection of the experience sparking a new idea or the reworking of an old idea or belief
- Active experimentation (apply it), which is where learners apply the new or reworked idea or belief into their lives
- Keep an open mind about new experiences
- Look at the experience from different perspectives
- Create concepts based on their observations
- Use these concepts in their lives to solve problems and make decisions

7 Main Concepts of Outdoor Adventure Therapy
Types of Activities in Outdoor Adventure Therapy
- Build positive relationships
- Improve social skills
- Increase self-awareness
- Challenge preconceived notions about themselves and other people
- Build trust within the group
- Develop cooperation and communication skills
- Build trust among group members
- Promote problem-solving skills
- Develop strategies for managing emotions
- Increase self-awareness
- Develop a stronger relationship with the therapist and other group members
- Explore different levels of trust across different relationships
- Experience positive effects of a relationship based on trust
- Develop confidence in their ability to help other people
- Set healthy boundaries
- Set realistic goals
- Learn to support others
- Build healthy relationships
- Manage impulses and emotions
- Develop healthy coping skills
- Develop self-confidence
- Reinforce trust in others
- Develop personal responsibility
- Develop greater self-awareness
- Learn to accept help and offer help to others
- Improve their coping skills
- Improve emotional management skills
- Learn to cooperate and build healthy relationships built on trust
- Create a deep and meaningful connection to nature
- Understand the interdependent nature of the activity and develop trust in others
- Build healthy relationships
- Increase self-awareness surrounding personal choices
- Experience natural consequences of their actions
- Develop a high level of self-confidence
- Connect with nature in meaningful ways
- Learn essential coping skills
Resources:
https://www.aee.org/tapg-best-p-foundational-concepts
https://www.outdoor-learning-research.org/Portals/0/Research%20Documents/Horizons%20Archive/H56.OutdoorAndAdventureTherapy.pdf
https://www.samhsa.gov/recovery
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience As the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Outdoor Adventure Therapy Promotes Long-Term Recovery
According to the Institute for Outdoor Learning, outdoor adventure therapy has far-reaching effects for those who fully participate. 4 These include:
- Recovery from mental fatigue and better concentration
- Better overall cognitive functioning
- A more positive way of seeing the world
- Better coping skills to deal with stress, negative emotions and cravings
- Better physical and mental health and wellbeing

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