How Adventure Therapy Improves Mental Health in Recovery
Did you know that therapy doesn’t necessarily have to take place within the four walls of a therapist’s office? In fact, sometimes the most healing activities involve no walls at all!
Adventure therapy for addiction recovery is a proven process that can help you open up and set the stage for future success after you transition back to your daily life.
Adventure therapy allows you to take risks in the great outdoors and push yourself beyond your limits, all while working on mental health and treatment.
It sets the stage for lower anxiety by being in nature, teaches you problem-solving skills, and increases self-reliance. It even improves your communication.
Ingrained Recovery offers a holistic approach to addiction treatment and mental health services.
If you think that adventure therapy may be the right fit for you (or your loved one) as support on your recovery journey, this guide will help you decide whether to enroll in our treatment program.
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What Exactly is Adventure Therapy in Addiction Treatment?
When you take the first step in the recovery process, you want to use every tool at your disposal to combat a drug or alcohol addiction. Personal growth is a necessity of long-term sobriety.
What are some creative ways that you can cope with mental health issues related to substance abuse?
Adventure therapy is one way that some people tap into their therapeutic goals to improve their own self-expression and self-esteem while adding new coping skills to their toolbox. This type of therapy can be a great addition to residential treatment programs or even intensive outpatient programs.
In essence, you’re using the natural world to help you cope with difficult feelings and situations. You put yourself at some sort of risk, requiring you to push yourself beyond your limits.
In coping with that risk and finding a way out of the situation, you learn skills that will, in turn, help you turn away from scenarios that may lead you to drugs and alcohol again.
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How Does Wilderness Therapy for Substance Abuse Work?
Adventure therapy isn’t just about teaching you new skills or occupying your time while you’re in our program. It’s also about incorporating the tenets of talk therapy into your treatment. Some people will find it much easier to discuss their difficulties with sober living in the context of wilderness therapy.
Whether you go rock climbing or take up residence on the disc golf course, anyone can benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy conducted in the midst of another activity.
The question is, why does a wilderness therapy program improve substance use recovery so often?
Why Outdoor Activities Like Rock Climbing Work
The first reason to consider these types of outdoor activities is because of the benefits of time spent in nature.
A little bit of time in the great outdoors has been linked to lower anxiety and less depression or mood issues. Nature has a healing power that we can’t overlook when it comes to recovery.
If you’ve been having a hard time opening up in therapy, spending time in nature might be the ticket to opening the door. These outdoor activities can take your anxiety over therapy down a few notches and open you up to talking about the real reason for treatment. Your treatment team can better support you when they know what you need.
Not to mention, these improved communication skills will be important when you return home to your friends and family. You can apply what you learn about communication and take a loved one for a walk, where it will be easier for both of you to share your feelings.
Learning New Skills Through Treatment
Recreational activities also give you an outlet for your problems, even if just for a little while. While you engage in structured activities, you’re learning new and important life skills. One skill taught through the adventure therapy program is simply how challenges can take your mind off your internal struggles.
However, that’s not the only thing that experiential education will teach you. It also aids in your problem-solving abilities. When you face a challenge in your life related to your sobriety, you’ll be able to engage in creative thinking that can take you out of a dangerous situation.
Self-Reliance Stemming from Outdoor Activities
In addition to engaging your brain in problem-solving, you’ll also learn self-reliance. Clients in recovery have a hard time trusting themselves to make important decisions. Once you graduate from Ingrained Recovery, you need to know that you can take care of yourself.
You will have learned that you can make good decisions on the ropes course and rock climbing wall. It may not seem like it at first glance, but the confidence that comes from those activities will bleed over into your recovery from any addiction.
Plus, you will have learned the importance of healthier hobbies. You’ll know where to turn for support in your community and can get out into nature whenever something bothers or tempts you.
Positive Relationships and Team Building
Do you have a hard time interacting with a group? One of the benefits for young adults and adults alike is that adventure therapy improves communication with those around you. Participants must work as a team to accomplish specific goals set out by the activities therapist. Without community, you’ll feel like an island.
Rehab gives you the opportunity to trust your peers, but families can benefit from these programs too. Once you learn how to communicate with your peers, you can transfer those skills to other areas of life. This is particularly crucial when you explore returning home for an intensive outpatient program.
Covered by Insurance During Rehab
Most of the time, wilderness therapy won’t be covered by your insurance company on its own. However, you can make good use of the programs available to you when you enroll in a rehabilitation program that offers this type of experiential education. Ingrained Recovery grants you access under insurance.
Just like art therapy and yoga therapy are covered as part of an inpatient treatment program, so is any kind of wilderness therapy designed to help you recover from substance abuse.
Addiction recovery is multi-faceted, so take advantage of the services available to you in rehab. You may find new hobbies and skills that you want to avail yourself of in your return to your daily life. We provide a sampling of new therapies so that you can see what ultimately works best for you.
Begin an Adventure in Recovery at Ingrained Today
Are you ready to improve your self-esteem and take your addiction treatment to the next level with adventure therapy?
Ingrained Recovery can help you tap into the healing power of the great outdoors when you enroll in our residential treatment center.
We can help you make the most of your insurance benefits, starting with a quick call to verify those benefits and see what your insurance company will cover. Our enrollment team can answer any and every question about our addiction treatment program so you can start to heal your mental health.
Give us a call today to learn how our proven program may just be the right fit for you!
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References
- Gerdes, M. E., Aistis, L. A., Sachs, N. A., Williams, M., Roberts, J. D., & Rosenberg Goldstein, R. E. (2022). Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Activities on Anxiety among U.S. Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(9), 5121.
- Scott, S., Gray, T., Charlton, J., & Millard, S. (2022). The Impact of Time Spent in Natural Outdoor Spaces on Children’s Language, Communication and Social Skills: A Systematic Review Protocol. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(19), 12038.
- Mohan, A., Malhotra, S., Narayanan, M., White, H., & Gaffney, H. (2022). PROTOCOL: The effectiveness of wilderness therapy and adventure learning in reducing anti-social and offending behaviour in children and young people at risk of offending. Campbell systematic reviews, 18(3), e1270.
- Norton, C. L., Tucker, A., Farnham-Stratton, M., Borroel, F., & Pelletier, A. (2017). Family Enrichment Adventure Therapy: A Mixed Methods Study Examining the Impact of Trauma-Informed Adventure Therapy on Children and Families Affected by Abuse. Journal of child & adolescent trauma, 12(1), 85–95.