Future of Adventure Therapy [blog 11]

     After learning a lot of about Adventure Therapy, I see a really positive and exciting future for the field itself. Because of the improvements in the field and the recognition it has received I think that it will continue to grow as a common type of therapy. After skyping with Paula Leslie she brought to our attention that she expects there to be more specific types of Adventure Therapy to come along in the next few years, giving each type of AT a more specific set of qualities of a client to cater to.
    Another reason that I see a positive future for Adventure Therapy is because of the growing amount of research and experience that people are getting to have with Adventure Therapy. There is a lot of growth that can be made and a significant amount that has already taken place. One of the issues that was brought up during class that may serve as a hindrance or challenge to Adventure Therapy is burn out with the therapists. As we discussed some of the best ways to help prevent that is to continue to have older therapists involved in the training and mentoring of new therapists. Perhaps growing the work force and being able to rotate the therapists into different positions would help prevent burn out and keep the field full of new ideas and energy.
     There are a lot of program evaluations and research being done within the field and more specifically within each individual program that is leading to more and more knowledge about what works and what does not work within the field. Because almost 90% of programs contact their clients after completion of treatment, whether it was successful or not, there still is a growing amount of information on these programs (Gass, Gillis, and Russell 2012). On the other side of the spectrum is a challenge that AT faces that comes down to the costs of the programs. Because of how expensive the programs are there is a limited population that is able to participate in the these types of programs. This can be seen as a challenge and as an opportunity at the same time. The opportunity here is to discover ways to include participants who cannot afford these programs (Gass, Gillis, and Russell 2012). Through doing so, there will be new ideas and new ways of providing the programs to a wider range of people.
     Even though there are a lot of challenges that Adventure Therapy may face in the next 10 years, I see a lot of potential in the field. It is a very positive way to reach people, it encourages health lifestyles and seeks to provide a safe environment for those to develop.

photo from pinterest

Citations


Gass, M. A., Gillis, H.L., Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York, Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.