Open access

An Examination of the Feasibility of Adventure-Based Therapy in Outpatient Care for Individuals With Psychosis

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
24 June 2013

Abstract

Adventure-based therapy (ABT) involves experiential learning, outdoor education, group counselling, and intrapersonal education. While it has shown benefits in a number of populations including at-risk youth, little research has focused on individuals with psychosis. The objective of this study was to employ a mixed-methods pre-post design to examine the feasibility of a 6-week ABT intervention in an outpatient care setting among 15 adults with psychosis. The intervention proved feasible with significant improvements found in engagement in the recovery process, emotional well-being, and energy level. No changes in self-esteem or global health were observed.

Résumé

La thérapie d'aventure est une intervention utilisant l'apprentissage expérientiel, l’éducation en plein air, l'orientation de groupe et l’éducation intrapersonnelle. Bien que cette thérapie se soit avérée utile auprès d'un certain nombre de populations, peu de recherches ont été effectuées auprès des individus souffrant de psychose. L'objectif de cette étude était d'examiner la praticabilité d'une intervention de 6 semaines de thérapie d'aventure dans un contexte de soins ambulatoires auprès de 15 adultes souffrant de psychose. Des méthodes multiples, comprenant une évaluation pré-test post-test, ont été utilisées. L'intervention s'est avérée praticable, et des améliorations significatives ont été observées en ce qui concerne le processus de rétablissement, le bien-être émotionnel et l’énergie.

Formats available

You can view the full content in the following formats:

References

Autry C. E. Adventure therapy with girls at-risk: Responses to outdoor experiential activities Therapeutic Recreation Journal 2001 35 4 289 -306
Bennett L. W., Cardone S., and Jarczyk J. Effects of a therapeutic camping program on addiction recovery: The Algonquin haymarket relapse prevention program Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 1998 15 5 469 -474
Berman D. S. and Anton M. T. A wilderness therapy program as an alternative to adolescent psychiatric hospitalization Residential Treatment for Children & Youth 1988 5 3 41 -53
Cason D. and Gillis H. L. A meta-analysis of outdoor adventure programming with adolescents The Journal of Experiential Education 1994 17 1 40 -47
Corrigan P. W., Giffort D., Fadwa R., Leary M., and Okeke I. Recovery as a psychological construct Community Mental Health Journal 1999 35 3 231 -239
Corrigan, P. W., & Jakus, M. R. (1994). Behavioural treatment. In J.M. Silver, S.C. Yudofsky, & R.E. Hales (Eds.), Neuropsychiatry of traumatic brain injury (pp. 733-769). Washinton, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Corrigan P. W., Salzer M., Ralph R.O., Sangster Y., and Keck L. Examining the factor structure of the recovery assessment scale Schizophrenia Bulletin 2004 30 4 1035 -1041
Davis-Berman J. and Berman D. S. The wilderness therapy program: An empirical study of its effects with adolescents in an outpatient setting Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 1989 19 4 271 -281
Eack S. and Newhill C. Psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis Schizophrenia Bulletin 2007 33 1225 -1237
Eikenæs I., Gude T., and Hoffart A. Integrated wilderness therapy for avoidant personality disorder Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 2006 60 4 275 -281
Epstein I. Adventure therapy: A mental health promotion strategy in pediatric oncology Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 2004 21 2 103 -110
Ewert A. W., McCormick B. P., and &Voight A. E. Outdoor experiential therapies: Implications for TR practice Therapeutic Recreation Journal 2001 35 2 107 -122
Fletcher T. B. and Hinkle J. S. Adventure based counseling: An innovation in counseling Journal of Counseling & Development 2002 80 3 277 -285
Gillis H. L., Gass M. A., and Russell K. C. The effectiveness of project adventure's behavior management programs for male offenders in residential treatment Residential Treatment for Children & Youth 2008 25 3 227 -247
Gureje O., Harvey C., and Herrman H. Self-esteem in patients who have recovered from psychosis: Profile and relationship to quality of life Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2004 38 5 334 -338
Harper N. J., Russell K. C., Cooley R., and Cupples J. Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions: An exploratory case study of adolescent wilderness therapy, family functioning, and the maintenance of change Child & Youth Care Forum 2007 36 2-3 111 -129
Herbert J. T. Therapeutic effects of participating in an adventure therapy program Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 1998 41 3 201 -214
Jacobson N. and Greenley D. What is recovery? A conceptual model and explication Psychiatric Services 2001 52 482 -485
Jones C. D., Lowe L. A., and Risler E. A. The effectiveness of wilderness adventure therapy programs for young people involved in the juvenile justice system Residential Treatment for Children & Youth 2004 22 2 53 -62
Jung X. T. and Newton R. Cochrane reviews of non-medication-based psychotherapeutic and other interventions for schizophrenia, psychosis, and bipolar disorder: A systematic literature review International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 2009 18 4 239 -249
King, R., Lloyd, C., & Meehan, T. (2007). Handbook of psychosocial rehabilitation. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
McGurk S., Mueser K., DeRosa T., and Wolfe R. Work, recovery, and comorbidity in schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial of cognitive remediation Schizophrenia Bulletin 2009 35 319 -335
McHorney C. A., Ware J. E., Lu J. F. R., and Sherbourne C. D. The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groups Medical Care 1994 32 1 40 -66
Morrison A., Hutton P., Shiers D., and Turkington D. Anti-psychotics: Is it time to introduce patient choice? British Journal of Psychiatry 2012 201 83 -84
Ragsdale K. G., Cox R. D., Finn P., and Eisler R. M. Effectiveness of short-term specialized inpatient treatment for war-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A role for adventure-based counseling and psychodrama Journal of Traumatic Stress 1996 9 2 269 -283
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the adolescent self-image (Rev. ed.). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Russell, K. C. (2004). Evaluating the effects of the Project Dare program on young offenders (Technical Report 2). Durham: Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative and University of New Hampshire.
Russo J., Trujillo C. A., Wingerson D., Decker K., Ries R., Wetzler H., and Roy-Byrne R. The MOS -36-Item Short Form Health Survey: Reliability, validity, and preliminary findings in schizophrenic outpatients Medical Care 1998 36 5 753 -756
Sallans D. Inventing hope: Working with the mentally ill in outdoor adventure Zip Lines: The Voice for Adventure Education 1998 34 28 -33
Sallans D. Nancy's story The Journal of Experiential Education 1999 22 3 162
Smith, J. (1995). Semi-structured interviewing and qualitative analysis. In J. Smith, R. Harre, & L. Langehove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 9-26). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sorgaard K. W., Heikkila J., Hansson L., Vinding H., Bjarnason O., Bengtsson-Tops A., and … Meddelboe T. Self-esteem in persons with schizophrenia. A Nordic multicentre study Journal of Mental Health 2002 11 4 405 -415
Torrey W. C., Mueser K. T., McHugo G. H., and Drake R. E. Self-esteem as an outcome measure in studies of vocational rehabilitation for adults with severe mental illness Psychiatric Services 2000 51 229 -233
Voruganti L. M., Whatham J., Bard E., Parker G., Babbey C., Ryan J., Lee S., and MacCrimmon D. J. Going beyond: An adventure and recreation-based group intervention promotes well-being and weight loss in schizophrenia Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 2006 51 9 575 -580
Ware J. E. and Sherbourne C. D. The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36®): I. Conceptual framework and item selection Medical Care 1992 30 6 473 -483
Williams B. The treatment of adolescent populations: An institutional vs. a wilderness setting Journal of Child & Adolescent Group Therapy 2000 10 1 47 -56

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 32Number 2June 2013
Pages: 1 - 11

History

Version of record online: 24 June 2013

Key Words

  1. adventure-based therapy
  2. psychosis
  3. schizophrenia

Mots-clés

  1. thérapie d'aventure
  2. psychose
  3. schizophrénie

Authors

Affiliations

Jessica Bryson
Jenna Feinstein
John Spavor
Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Sean A. Kidd
Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Other Metrics

Citations

Cite As

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

PDF

View PDF

Login options

Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Subscribe

Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health

Purchase options

Purchase this article to get full access to it.

Restore your content access

Enter your email address to restore your content access:

Note: This functionality works only for purchases done as a guest. If you already have an account, log in to access the content to which you are entitled.

Media

Media

Other

Tables

Share Options

Share

Share the article link

Share on social media