Wilderness therapy

[2] To address this, an integrated definition of a wilderness therapy program is offered as one which "utilizes outdoor adventure activities, such as primitive skills and reflection, to enhance personal and interpersonal growth.

[5] Finally, when using the long term model, clients stay at a "rural camp" for an extended period – potentially up to 2 years – and "a wilderness component is introduced in daily activities or in the facility setting.

Some were started by former students of Brigham Young University such program as the Aspen Achievement Academy[8] and the School for Urban and Wilderness Survival which is located in the state of Idaho.

[2] However, the majority of the articles included in the review did not assess possible safety issues for participants in wilderness programs, and the authors recommended that possible side effects be investigated further.

[13] A study of adolescents sent to wilderness therapy and residential treatment programs in the United States found that clients tended to have "greater than average intelligence and academic achievement" in spite of often having issues with schooling (18% having been suspended and 12.7% expelled).

[5] One study found that, among the 17 surveyed US Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Programs, about half of the therapy participants attended involuntarily and were transported by teen escort company.

Maia Szalavitz, author of the 2006 book Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids, has concluded that many tactics employed by wilderness-therapy programs are no different than those used at Guantanamo Bay.

[36] In October 2007 and April 2008, the United States Government Accountability Office convened hearings to address reports of widespread and systemic abuse in adolescent treatment facilities.

[39] Due to the trauma and alleged harm reported by former wilderness program residents who have been forcibly escorted into placement, psychologists have heavily criticized this approach as inappropriate, and grossly inconsistent with establishing the necessary trust required for building a therapeutic relationship between youth and providers.

[43] Some have argued that it is unethical for programs serving “high-risk” youth to deliver therapeutic services using less than professionally trained and credentialed mental health staff.