Outdoor experiential education & wilderness therapy

Outdoor education, experiential education, and wilderness therapy programs involve adventure-based activities and outdoor pursuits that emphasize inter- and intra-personal growth through overcoming obstacles. Examples include: camping, challenge courses, rope courses, and wilderness excursions such as trekking, canoeing, sailing, and cycling. Programs often focus on youth, and can be implemented alone or with other types of therapy.

• Increased self-esteem

• Increased self-concept

• Improved mental health

• Reduced recidivism

• Increased academic achievement

• Improved physical fitness

• Improved family functioning

• Improved social skills

• Reduced substance abuse

There is strong evidence that outdoor and experiential education and wilderness therapy programs increase participants’ self-esteem^{1, 2} and belief that they have control over events that affect them^2, 3. Wilderness therapy programs have also been shown to improve overall functioning and mental health among adolescents⁴ and appear to decrease recidivism among white adolescent males². There are a variety of these types of programs, however, and some are more successful than others. Additional research and evaluation is needed to better understand the characteristics of the most successful programs.

Wilderness therapy and experiential education programs modestly improve academic performance, physical health, family development, and social skills among participants¹. Outdoor education may increase group work skills and improve attitudes toward group work among college students⁵. Wilderness therapy programs are associated with reduced substance abuse and increased levels of readiness to change among youth⁴. 

Research suggests that outdoor education and experiential education programs with a longer duration have stronger effects than shorter programs⁶. An evaluation of a wilderness therapy program for Canadian young offenders finds that a 20-day program has greater effects on social skills and motivation than a 10-day program⁷; success of some other wilderness therapy programs does not appear to be affected by program duration².

There are many outdoor and experiential education programs in the US. Examples include: 8, the National Outdoor Leadership School⁹, 10, and The Hero Project: Cultural/Adventure Rites of Passage¹¹. There are also a number of professional and academic organizations for experiential educators, including the Association for Experiential Education¹² and the Wilderness Education Association¹³.