Wilderness Therapy

Wilderness therapy is a subset of adventure-based therapy. It is the use of wilderness expeditions for the purpose of therapeutic intervention. There are a range of different types of wilderness therapy programs, with a range of models and approaches. Some grow out of a survival approach and some out of an Outward Bound approach. Their aim is guiding participants toward self-reliance and self-respect. The pioneers in the field of wilderness therapy were Larry D. Olsen and Ezekiel C. Sanchez at Brigham Young University; Nelson Chase, Steven Bacon, and others at the Colorado Outward Bound School; Rocky Kimball at Santa Fe Mountain Center and many others.