11/14: Where am I headed? (said the little birdie known as Adventure Therapy)

Question: Project where AT might be in 10 years

Answer:

Considering this is going to be my line of work after college, I hope that AT will make progress in a positive direction at a reasonable pace.  I feel like because of the "go green" and other environmental pushes that we are experiencing today could potentially lead to a more outdoor friendly approach to therapy, and I have the inclination that having 10 years under its belt will really help Adventure Therapy develop into a even more credible type of therapy.

I feel like main challenge that I see Adventure Therapy facing is research.  Being able to compare a experimental group to a control group is something that I feel could benefit and show the true potential of Adventure Therapy programs.  If people where able to see more research done in Adventure Therapy, and if the funding was available, people could better understand the true potential of AT.  I feel like without this research in 10 years AT might still only be serving to a limited audience, those upperclass that can afford to partake in Adventure Therapy programs.  The average cost of a Adventure therapy program is simply not affordable and thus unacceptable to a lot of populations which could benefit.

Fortunately, I feel like there are companies such as the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council that are going to help establish a foundation for further research.  Founded in 1997, representatives from fourteen different locations are now members of a organization that stands to set a higher standard for excellence in wilderness treatments for adolescents.  OBHIC aims to work to advance the field through best practice, effective treatment and evidence-based research.  They have a set of standards for what they determine to be a highly effective form of treatment.  This kind of organization has already helped to fill the research gap which I mentioned earlier.  For one of their accredited organizations, Summit Achievement, a case study can be pulled up that support Adventure Therapy as a more effective form of treatment than other traditional treatments.  This case study which drew information from eight different OBH programs.  The results of this study by Keith Russell in 2001 showed significantly significant reduction in presenting symptoms for admission to discharge.

With all of this in mind, I feel like the future of Adventure Therapy is unknown but vastly depends on evidence based research conducted in the field.  This research could really help promote the field in amazing new ways, helping support its growth for more varied populations.
Questions that I have about creating and promoting a future for Adventure Therapy is:
Where will funding for research come from?
How do we inform these funders about the importance and benefits of funding for the field of Adventure Therapy?

References:
Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

Summit Achievement (2013). Youth Outcome Study. Retrieved from http://www.summitachievement.com/wp/menu/youth-outcome-study

Conway, J. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from http://obhic.com/about.html

5/Chapter 13: I like learning about AT

Pick one of the outcome areas of AT research and link them to research in one or more of the following areas: Abnormal, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive, Developmental,
Learning, and Social

What does self-concept even mean? According to this website, self concept is how we think about and evaluate ourselves.  Our awareness of ourselves allows us to create a concept of who we are.  If you need to hear it first hand from some adorable children, all you have to do is click here.  If you resisted the urge to click the link (you're missing out they really are cute) the big take away for our purposes is that middle school aged kids describe themselves in less concrete terms and start describing themselves in group membership.  As a child develops into a young person, the begin to continuous compare and contrast their behavior with that of their peers and begin to develop a sense of who they are based on feedback they are receiving (Gass, Gillis, & Russell, 2012).  

Now I bet your wondering, where aspect of psychology could I relate this too? Good thing you asked.  Self-concept draws parallels to learning psychology.  Learning psychology can be seen as creating permanent behavioral change or a potential for creating behavioral change. As learning takes place, you can alter the way you perceive your environment, the way you interpret incoming stimuli and therefore the way you interact and behave. That’s the potential for a lot of change.   

Low levels of self-concept are associated with the continuation of self-destructive behavior in adolescents.  People with this state of mind are often poor judges leading to a multitude of different problems we see in youth today.  But how can we stop these problems? Adventure Therapy to the rescue!  Early studies showed that AT programs enhance the self-concept of adolescents by presenting challenges which are developmentally appropriate because they are concrete, attainable, and increase in challenge as the intervention progresses (Gass, Gillis, & Russell, 2012).  This can also be seen in the reinforcement aspect of learning psychology.  The term reinforce, as associated with psychology refers to a stimulus which increases the probability for a specific response.  Healthcare professionals working in AT can use these reinforcements to achieve desired results in their area of work, whether it’s back-country or the front-country.  Now that’s coming full circle.

Questions I’m left with though is what types of reinforcement should be used primarily, positive, negative, extinction or punishment?  Is it even helpful to generalize in that sense or should everything be taken by a case by case situation?  Should some be used more or less? Here is a link with a definition for these terms so you can help me answer them!

Citation:

 

Heffner, C. (2004, March 24). Psychology 101. Retrieved from http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html 

Heffner, C. (2011, November 29). Chapter 4: Learning theory and behavioral psychology. Retrieved from http://allpsych.com/psychology101/reinforcement.html

McLeod, S. A. (2008) . Self Concept. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html

Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

Note: Youtube video is not cited below because it is from the self concept website, it is just linked as a youtube video for your viewing comfort.