Moderate effectiveness: 0.54
What is Wilderness Therapy?
1. By exposing patients to interpersonal problems, therapy and group activities in an
unfamiliar context away from home, wilderness therapy encourages the development of healthy self-esteem and social skills.
2. Encountering familiar problems in an unfamiliar context may shed new light on existing problems.
3. By solving the natural challenges posed by a wilderness environment, patients may build up courage to face real-world problems on their own.
4. Additionally, physical activity alone may improve physical and mental health.\
Evidence:
0.49 small to moderate effect: increased self-esteem (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
0.55 moderate effect: increased locus of control (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
0.75 moderate to large effect: improved behaviors in observation (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
0.46 small to moderate effect: increased personal effectiveness (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
0.50 moderate effect: decreased scores on clinical measures (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
0.54 moderate effect: increased interpersonal measures (Bettmann, Gillis, Speelman, Parry, & Case, 2016)
Bettmann, J. E., Gillis, H. L., Speelman, E. A., Parry, K. J., & Case, J. M. (2016). A meta-analysis of wilderness therapy outcomes for private pay clients. Journal Of Child and Family Studies, 25(9), 2659-2673. doi:10.1007/s10826-016-0439-0
How To Therapy 