Wilderness Therapy
1994; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 15; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1300/j015v15n03_03
ISSN1541-0315
Autores Tópico(s)Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking
ResumoWilderness therapy is neither a newcomer nor a fringe therapy-it originates from wilderness challenge programs that were established in 1945, and it has been applied to clinical populations in the United States since the 1960s. Its efficacy, particularly in work with adolescent populations, is supported by a solid body of research. Its therapeutic application to survivors of incest, rape, and battering is, however, very recent (early 1980s), as is its specific application to empowerment of women (mid 1980s). After a brief review of the general wilderness therapy model, this paper turns to a consideration of wilderness therapy in work with survivors of abuse and empowerment for women. The author draws on the voices of women who have experienced wilderness as healing and empowering, and includes her own voice, to explore two distinct components of wilderness therapy-the healing effects of specific therapeutic activities and challenges in a novel environment, and the more elusive spiritual healing effects of a newly found or renewed sense of connectedness with the power of the earth.
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