7/Chapter 8: Well Metaphorically Speaking..

Question: Examine psychological support for using metaphor in language to facilitate change.

   

My Answer: 

Often, Adventure Therapy practices see metaphors as tool in order to help clients discover change within themselves.   There are many different approaches to how to implement metaphors into Adventure Therapy practices.  One which I want to focus on for the purposes of this bog is structured metaphoric transfer where the therapist works with the client to co-create a framework of interpretation about their adventure experience before it actually begins.  This approach increases the likelihood of client focusing on their interpretation of the experience, providing one that is tailored to their needs.

A key term associated with structured metaphoric transfer in Adventure Therapy takes part in the isomorphic framing of the experience.  Basically clients use an idea, object or description that is identical, thus comparable, to another idea object or description that they are dealing with in their everyday life (Gass, Gillis, Russell 2012).This object then serves as a physical representation of that emotion they are feeling or problem they are facing.

A similar approach to the use of isomorphism used by other mental health care professionals is seen in the field of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.  This video may not represent the most memorable experience of all structured metaphoric transfers, although it explicitly represents what structured metaphoric transfer looks like within Equine Assisted Psychotherapy practices.  If you watch the first minute of the video and then skip to 4:20 on, you can get a better idea of how the client takes away or transfer the activity back into his life at home.  In this video the “boat” is isomorphically framed (or introduced) right from the beginning.  This allows the client to view the boat (constructed of a tarps, jumping blocks, cones and various objects) as the idea that needs to be “sunk” in the clients mind. 

Working with horses often provides people with various passageways to introduce metaphors with how to deal with intimidating and challenging situations in life. In a broader sense a client is able to become more self-aware of how the horse relates to them, their herd and how they relate to the horse.  The opportunities for structured metaphoric transfer are limitless.  Some health care professionals believe anything found in relationships with other people, family dynamics, emotional reactions, behaviors and choices can be played out in equine assisted psychotherapy sessions. 

What other ways have you seen Adventure Therapy, Equine Therapy or other practices use structured metaphoric transfers as vessel for clients to experience change? Is this approach more effective for certain lengths of programs, why or why not?

Citations:

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

Trinity Equestrian Center (2010).  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning. Retrieved from http://www.trinity-ec.com/trinity_services/eap_eal.phtml

Reins of H.O.P.E. (2012).  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). Retrieved from http://www.reinsofhope-ojai.org/eap.html


Romaridge. (2009, January 5) . Life's Obstacles Transitions Equine. Retrieved February, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGR7NJBFNgk 

6/Chapter 5: Neature is Neat

Pick one of therapeutic benefits of nature and link them to research in one or more of  the following areas:

Abnormal, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive, Developmental, Learning, and Social

Do you see a disconnect?

The benefits of nature in a therapeutic setting are vast.  How do you define them?  I want to start out this discussion with a video clip of a child whose life was literally extended by Adventure Therapy practices.  I had the opportunity to work at this amazing camp this past summer. I encourage you to watch the whole video, to grasp more about the Hole in the Wall foundation, but for the purposes of this blog the primary focus is on Stephen’s story (minutes 5:00-6:30) and his experience within AT.  The question I want to revisit is AT works, but why? 

The beauty, power and mystery of the natural world has a therapeutic effect on individuals.  This environment has been put on the back-burner and people aren't relating to the world in a healthy fashion anymore.  Gillis, Gass and Russell (2012) stated that the theory that people as a society struggle defining themselves in a technological and consumer-driven world.  How do you fit into this fast paced world?  The picture at the top spoke to me and our connection to nature.  Overtime we have advanced in seemingly practical ways, yet in turn we are less connected to our original relationship with nature?

One age group commonly discussed in AT practices is 13-18.  This age frame is also researched in one of Developmental psychology’s most well-known theories, Erikson’s theory of psycho-social stages.  Identify and role confusion aspect of Erikson’s theory of psycho-social stages is when adolescents are newly concerned with how they appear to others.
This is a time where teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity.  They tend to feel confused or insecure about where they fit into society. It is an important process of creating a strong identity and to developing a sense of direction in life.  I believe that during our lifetime there is a strong possibility that people could get future generations stuck into the consumer aspect of our world and try to seek out their identity in that aspect of our society.  What would our future look like?  Does it look like that now?  Is there was a way that we could intercept adolescents during that sensitive stage and make them aware of the therapeutic benefits of nature?  What are ways which you could see nature being slowly subtlety introduced to these age groups? Let me know what you think!

Citation:

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

McLeod, S. A. (2013) Erik Erikson. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

Davis, D., Clifton, A. (1995). Psychosocial Theroy Erikson. Retrieved from http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html

Cherry, K. (2013). Stage Five of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from  (http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/identity-versus-confusion.htm

The Painted Turtle Camp (2012, March 8). The Painted Turtle Our Founding Story. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1Wh1Arows  

Knowledge of Today (2013). Human Evolution vs. Nature. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=538684419487074&set=a.312286055460246.76583.307551552600363&type=1&theater 

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.

4: Lets get social about AT

How might The Outward Bound Process be used in psychology other than treatment?

In order to find out how the Outward Bound Process model is used in psychology, I felt it would be good to start at this base of the subject.  For this journal, I decided to gather more information about what exactly Walsh and Golins where originally seeking to convey, this is what I found.  I then was kind of curious about what these folks looked like, the picture below is what I found.  Side-note, Don't get to time warped with these outfits and forget to check that killer backdrop. 

Victor "Vic" Walsh is third from the left (note cool hat), Gerald "Jerry" Golins is first on the right

Secondly, I went to a solid reliable source I was familiar with, my notes from my Social Psychology class with Dr. Powell.  Here is a condensed snip it on which part of my notes I focused on. 

The article from the 70s talked about how this social environment is created by a ten group or primary group.  This primary group has about seven to fifteen people who seek a common objective.  Also, a bound and collective consciousness is present.  The size of the group allows them to have stricter conformity in the group and eventually participants realize that fighting against the group is less than ideal and taking a “go with the flow” attitude is imperative for our social being.  Those who don’t find themselves a member of the group might experience self-doubt and having a fear of rejection. 

Another area of the OBP that relates to social psychology is the idea that the learner finds reward in solving concrete and manageable problems within a positive peer environment.  The new attitudes and values allow people to become more likely to tackle upcoming problems.  This leads to the social psychology concept of internalization.  Internalization occurs when behaviors persists after the group is no longer present.  Formally, participants might have experienced cognitive dissonance, which is a disconnect between their internal beliefs and statements leading to discomfort.  There is now, for a participant, no disconnecting between these internal beliefs and the external statement.  Afterwards, A participant has demonstrated the internalized gained knowledge with no feelings of guilt or doubt.

Drawing these points together, the Outward Bound Process can be used in the research component of social psychology.  It can be used to further provide support for these theories and continue to expand and further define these concepts. In conclusion, the OBM has many connections to social psychology with this blog displaying only a few examples.

To gain more insight on these two Outward Bound founders and see more old photos from other pioneers go here.   

 Citations:

Walsh, V., & Golins, G. L. (1976). The exploration of the Outward Bound process.  Denver, CO: Colorado Outward Bound School.

Powell, C. (2012). Unit 1: Conformity. Personal collection of C. Powell, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA.

Robertson, J. (2012, June) . COBS Pioneers. Retrieved from http://outwardbounds50thanniversary.weebly.com/cobs-pioneers.html

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

3: Blog, Frog, Eggnog?

         When considering adventure therapy, one can view an approach to AT through the ABC~R triangle.  Basically, the approach meets clients where they are willing to expose themselves through their affect, behavior or cognition instead of fitting them into a existing program.  This in a sense is a co-created experience between the therapist and the client viewing the client through the lens of their environment. The success of this approach is partially how the adventure therapist or field staff connects with the client.  One approach that I appreciate is the fact that the AT primary focuses on increasing positive feelings, actions, and thoughts instead of trying to eliminate negative thoughts, feelings, and actions.

          Another approach to mental health treatment is Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). EAP is licensed therapist and horse professionals working together with a client to achieve treatment goals.  This incorporates experiential learning, professionals in the health care field and is a co-created experience.  However, this approach is different in the sense that the relationship described in the ABC~R triangle is created between the therapist and client, and this type of therapy also involves a very important four legged friend. Seems cool, huh? Check this promotional video, for more information on EAGALA and what they are trying to achieve.   

           Art therapy is another approach that has similarities to AT.  I was very unfamiliar with art therapy and was fascinated that it was used as a treatment for almost 100 years asking patients to visualize and create the emotions or thoughts they could not put into words.  Art therapy shares the self-discovery part of the AT experience client dig into feelings and actions that they may have felt in the past.  This makes the experience experiential in nature, since it involves the clients discovering treatment for themselves.  The difference is that the relationship here is more discovered primarily by the individual and does not necessarily involve a mental health professional.  Art therapy also focuses more on putting the bad emotions out to the light and focusing on them in the form of the painting rather than just focusing on increasing positive feelings. 

           Sometimes therapy comes in a more natural sounding way, Ecotherapy.  Ecotherapy helps treat people through the great outdoors when we are able to harmonize with the earth.  Once clientele recognize the planetary well-being and personal well-being are not to be separated and in taking care of the earth we are taking care of ourselves they can successfully take part in the treatment. This may be a more literal translations of AT’s philosophy of focusing on the client view the world through the lens of their environment. Similar to AT, Ecotherapy focuses on the positive rather then negative thoughts, feelings or actions one experiences.  This also doesn’t necessarily involve professional staff, as Ecotherapists are there to facilitate sessions for clientele. 

These three differing types can be compared against AT to better understand the approach AT takes, and other therapy’s take.  Hope you learned something!

Citations:

Noah Rubinstein, (2012, August 10) . Ecotherapy / Nature Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.goodtherapy.org/ecotherapy-nature-therapy.html

EAGALA (2010) . What is EAP and EAL? Retrieved from http://www.eagala.org/Information/What_Is_EAP_EAL

International Art Therapy Organization (2009) . Art Therapy and Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.internationalarttherapy.org/mentalhealth.html

EAGALA. (2012, July 16) . EAGALA In Practice Video Part 1. Retrieved January, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drm_vK5deFs&list=PL7E2E181689D2B749&index=1

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

2: Timeline

After collecting my PDF timeline of events in Adventure Therapy I went on to conquer the World Wide Web’s version of a timeline for Psychotherapy and Psychology.  To my surprise the connection between Psychology, Psychotherapy and Adventure Therapy was much more fluid than I had imagined.

For the purposes of my intellectual journey I began in 1892, which was the year that The American Psychological Association was founded along with the first camp for girls, Camp Arey in New York.  Secondly I discovered in 1918 a compulsory school began with the result of mass learning of individuals from diverse backgrounds.  Some students showed up to school in good health while some tended to learn slower than peers resulting in physical and mental examinations in schools.  Four years later (1922) Camp Ramapo in New York was founded with the specific purpose to work with delinquent and problem children in a summer camp setting.  Three years after Camp Ramapo (1925), marked the first year that school psychology training programs were offered at New York University at an undergraduate and graduate level.  Following these events other camps such as Camp Wawokiye in Ohio, founded in 1936, would follow Camp Ramapo in its footsteps. 

The 40’s marked a further progression in the AT, Psychology and Psychotherapy relationship.  In 1945 the Journal of Clinical Psychology was founded and a year later a foundation camp was started the Dallas Salesman Club Camp.  The Dallas Salesman Club Camp had the explicit goal of treating boys with emotional problems and serves as the current model for many year-around therapeutic camps in existence today.  Some of theses well-known organizations are the Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Three Springs, Wilderness Road Camping Association and the National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps. 

In 1963 Lawrence Kolberg introduced the idea for the sequence of morality development.  These stages of self-focused, other focused and higher focused moralities provide a better understanding of how morality is held throughout one’s life.  In The same year the idea of observational learning was introduced in the development of personality. Preceding this event one of the most well known organizations Outward Bound was came to the United States in 1932 and focused on character development in youth.  These psychological developments no doubt had influence on the furthered development of Outward Bound practices.

The 70s and forward really proved to be a time in which youth with disabilities and behavioral issues came to be further recognized in the public eye.  In 1973, VisionQuest formed as one of he first private for-profit organizations that integrated the outdoors for rehabilitation of adjudicated and behaviorally challenged youth.  Two years later, The All Handicapped Children Act was passed requiring all public schools to serve students with a broad range of disabilities, which triggered an enormous growth in the number of school psychologist practitioners.   In the 1980s the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG) was committed to the development of adventure-based programming in a therapeutic setting.  In the 1980’s psychological developments were also occurring as well Howard Gardner introduced his theory of multiple intelligence (1983) and the American Psychological Society establishment in 1988. 

When going through and attempting to shift through the dates, there are broader and more direct lines that can be drawn between the concepts.  Moving forward it will be interesting to see how AT, psychology and psychotherapy influence one another.

Citations:  

Heffner Media Group, I. (2003, August 10) . History of Psychology (387 BC to Present). Retrieved from http://allpsych.com/timeline.html

New York Association of School Psychologists (1990) . History of School Psychology Timeline [data file] . Retrieved from http://www.nyasp.org/pdf/sp_timeline.pdf

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

1: AT and others

Adventure Therapy, a less well-known use of mental heath treatment draws in similarities and differences between more traditional mental health treatments.  As defined by Gass, M.A., Gillis, H.L., Russell, K.R. (2012), Adventure Therapy is the prescriptive use of adventure experiences provided by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings that kinesthetically engage clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels. With that definition in mind I decided to pick two treatments that I had heard more about and one that intrigued me to compare it across.  The first treatment was the use of medication.  The typical drugs used according to the Mayo clinic staff are antidepressant, mood-stabilizing, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic medications.  The use of these medications is similar to AT in the fact that it affects clients on a cognitive, behavioral and affective level.  I feel like medication is different in the fact it is a lot less of a personal approach to treatment.  Although drugs as a treatment seem to be an appropriate motion in some situations, I feel as if human interaction and personalized treatments seen in treatments like AT sometimes goes undervalued.  With this personalized treatment comes a greater time commitment than a medicated treatment, which some could consider a drawback to the situation.  Another approach to mental health treatment is residential treatment programs. Residential treatment programs use a hands on approach like AT but typically take place in a more structured setting.   They are also similar to residential treatment centers because there is a varied length of stay between the two.  The last form of treatment, which I didn’t know much about, was brain stimulus treatment. According to the National Institute of Mental Health a common form of brain stimulus treatment, electroconsvulsive therapy (ECT) is pain free and has a negative depiction that is often misleading.  This procedure is similar to AT in the fact that it involves mental health professionals but differs in the fact it takes place primary in a medical setting and is generally a faster process.  ECT usually is administered three times a week and the patient is often done with treatment within six to 12 treatments.  Although there are clearly differences between types of therapy I believe that each treatment is best determined on an individual basis.

References:

National institute of mental health. (2009, November 17). Brain Stimulation Therapies. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml

Hazelden. (2013). Residential treatment centers.  Retrieved from http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/residential_addiction_treatment.page

Mayo Clinic staff. (2010, September 1).  Treatment and Drugs.  Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mental-illness/DS01104/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

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