The unique characteristics of wilderness therapy

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The primary aim of wilderness therapy is to resolve the academic, behavioral, and emotional issues of students in a nurturing and emphatic manner. Schools offering this therapeutic intervention do not force change among their students, but instead allow the environment to initiate student response. If the students aren’t ready yet, the staff members and facilitators move back from their positions of authority, allowing natural effects to influence students until they are ready to commit to experiential learning.


The unique intervention re-educates the youth and diverts its inclination to lifestyles of excesses, which are at the root of their issues. It particularly targets youth who have gone off-track due to the absence of distractions and familiar culture. The conditions in the wilderness allow students to sift through what’s significant and insignificant in their lives and encourage them to use their primitive skills to interact with their new environment. Aspen Education Group describes the wilderness therapy experience as “a ‘rite of passage,’ a transformational process that is difficult to find in our fast-paced, modern society.”

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Change begins with reflection. According to this study, the wilderness therapy process is comprised of the following:

1.) the cleansing phase which occurs early in the intervention

2.) a personal and social responsibility phase

3.) a transition and aftercare phase.

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A well-trained staff inclusive of therapists, teachers, and leaders nurture intra- and inter-personal and academic skills to help students improve their concepts of self. They may engage in periodic contact with the parents to ensure that families understand their role in their teenagers’ problematic behaviors and that they maintain their homes as conducive aftercare environments.


The wilderness therapy programs of Aspen Education Group are proven catalysts for change among struggling teens. Visit this website to get free advice on various treatment programs available for your teen.