Wilderness Therapy?
- Thread starter Barney
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Lamebeaver
New Member
I would tend to agree, but it's not for everyone. Some people would go absolutely bat**** just imagining spending a few days with out their tv or cell phone.
Pathfinder1
Well-Known Member
Hi...
I need therapy whether or not I'm afield...!! Incidently, did you know that "therapist" is actually two words?...!!
I need therapy whether or not I'm afield...!! Incidently, did you know that "therapist" is actually two words?...!!
There are several "therapy" wilderness courses where people can send their brats because they don't want to take the time to be with their kids to begin with. I've also ran across "court ordered" groups of young people. Some of these are helped but most just mope and feel sorry for themselves. As with anything, it takes special people to reach these troubled kids and help them change their lives.
oldsarge
Well-Known Member
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Yes, I watched Benny Hill too!
Pathfinder1
Well-Known Member
ppine
Forester
I like Grandpas post. I used to know a guy that took troubled urban kids on wagon train trips. He lived out of a wagon for a year once. Only a portion of the population can handle the wilds. Many people are scared to death, but most think it is too dirty and inconvenient. We are lucky that everyone doesn't want to be out there with us.
edit- This week at Red Rock Cyn, NV the area was popular but very civilized. Maybe it was too civilized. There was a young couple either drinking or high on drugs walking down the trail with a large portable boom box. It was at a reasonable volume but loud compared to the sound of the wind and the bird calls along the riparian stream and ponderosa pines. The idea of asking them if they knew what they were missing occured to me, but I decided it was better to leave them alone. They were obviously having fun in their own way. It is always interesting to see urban people in the outdoors. The music was probably very comforting for them as a buffer. Maybe a radio would be a good idea in bear country when traveliing thru heavy cover.
edit- This week at Red Rock Cyn, NV the area was popular but very civilized. Maybe it was too civilized. There was a young couple either drinking or high on drugs walking down the trail with a large portable boom box. It was at a reasonable volume but loud compared to the sound of the wind and the bird calls along the riparian stream and ponderosa pines. The idea of asking them if they knew what they were missing occured to me, but I decided it was better to leave them alone. They were obviously having fun in their own way. It is always interesting to see urban people in the outdoors. The music was probably very comforting for them as a buffer. Maybe a radio would be a good idea in bear country when traveliing thru heavy cover.
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firedancer
New Member
I agree, for some people. I have not been getting outdoors lately, most of the winter actually, and it's really put me into a funk. Even just a short hike on Saturday lifted my spirits greatly. But, as already mentioned, it's not for everyone. Many women feel much better after spending money at a shopping mall or having someone paint their toes (I enjoy the spa, too, but it's not as affordable as a walk outside!)
Absolutely true. I've had people out in the woods and thought they were going to have a seizure if they didn't get back to a sterile environment. I had a girl once run away when I pointed out some coon scat on top of a log. All I could say was: Wow. And I thought if anything bad ever happens I hope I'm there for you because you won't stand a snowball's chance in hell.
Cliff Stockton
New Member
As a former director of a wilderness program there are multiple benefits. However, my experience was that it was very beneficial, but not in isolation from families. And yes it is not for everyone.
These people are known as "obsessive compulsives" and are the ones most direly in need of wilderness therapy.
I wholeheartedly agree! I like to put health into the context of our evolution. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors had excellent health, all of the modern diseases we suffer from today were alien to our ancestors. They lived in the wild and I am sure that spending time in the natural environment is what our genes want! There are studies which show our brain rewards us with 'feel-good' chemicals when we are in a natural environment,
Would have to agree with Lamebeaver. These days, technology has a grip on most people that can be quite hard to understand. Even though I love camping, I have to admit that I still carry a few of these gadgets with me, especially when I go camping alone or just with my boys. But about the being healthy part, I see it with my boys. They seem to be a whole lot less affected by stress from school compared to their friends and they are a lot more active than their friends.
Don't expect miracles with your kids, but I guaranty that if you teach your children self sufficiency early in life, they will carry that self esteem into their class work, athletics, religion and all phases of their lives.
This does not mean force them but teach them with love and give them the freedom to find their own confidence.
This does not mean force them but teach them with love and give them the freedom to find their own confidence.
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ppine
Forester
Shaun,
It depends on what you mean by excellent health. A life expectancy of 35, bad teeth, death by infections, accidents, etc. I would have died in bed from the horse wreck I was in if it had happened even 100 years ago. My partner Cindy would have died from internal cysts she had if is was back then.
It is easy to romanticize the past. It was hard and people didn't live very long. They had trouble getting enough to eat, they were cold a lot, and they died from accidents all the time.
It depends on what you mean by excellent health. A life expectancy of 35, bad teeth, death by infections, accidents, etc. I would have died in bed from the horse wreck I was in if it had happened even 100 years ago. My partner Cindy would have died from internal cysts she had if is was back then.
It is easy to romanticize the past. It was hard and people didn't live very long. They had trouble getting enough to eat, they were cold a lot, and they died from accidents all the time.
Cliff Stockton
New Member
As a Program Director of a Wilderness Therapy Program, I saw many significant changes in the students who came to us. The primitive living was really quite a shock for many of them, used to constant interactions on internet, phone, text, etc. A surprising number did not even know how to lace up a boot, and many were apparently allergic to water. By the end of several weeks, they had relaxed and much more open to looking at their part in their families problems. It was a remarkably consistent response. While therapists interacted with them on a case plan, my experience was that just being out there induced many positive changes.
There is some research that shows this as well. Look up OBHRC they have a list of research articles on wilderness therapy and adventure programs.
There is some research that shows this as well. Look up OBHRC they have a list of research articles on wilderness therapy and adventure programs.
wvbreamfisherman
Active Member
Hear, hear!
I developed a badly infected cyst several years ago from an impacted wisdom tooth. That simple infection would have almost certainly killed me, as recently as 100 years ago. Thank God for modern medicine, dentistry and abundant, safe food and water!
Sometime take a look at the size and (estimated) weight of primitive man. Their skeletons show that many suffered from deficiency disease such as scruvy and rickets.
Their lives were (as Thomas Hobbes) put it, solitary, poore, nasty,brutish, and short.
The Rousseauvian myth that primitive man lived in an exalted state at one with Nature is just that, a myth.
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Cliff Stockton
New Member
How many of you have read "Last Child in the Woods" Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. He cites many examples of how exposure to wilderness improves many conditions and behaviors.