Promising Results for Young Adults…

Posted by Evoke Therapy Programs on February 03, 2014

A Second Nature Study, Published in the Journal of Residential Treatment of Children and Youth, Suggests Promising Results for Young Adults in Wilderness Therapy

The Journal of Residential Treatment for Children and Youth published an article by Second Nature researchers entitled, “Efficacy of Wilderness Therapy for Young Adults: A First Look”. This is one of the first studies examining outcomes for young adults in wilderness therapy, and suggests promising results for this group.

Matt Hoag, PhD, Katie Massey, MSW, MSPH, Sean Roberts, MS, and Patrick Logan, MS, describe findings from a Second Nature pilot study in an article published in the Journal of Residential Treatment for Children and Youth in November 2013. While there has been considerable growth in outcomes research with adolescent clients in wilderness therapy and outdoor behavioral healthcare, data on young adults are largely absent from the literature. The Second Nature pilot study investigated the effectiveness of wilderness therapy for 297 young adult participants. The three-year study found clinically and statistically significant positive change from intake to discharge on the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2. It also found significant positive change on measures of life effectiveness, motivation for therapy, therapeutic alliance, and dysfunctional attitudes. This article discusses when change occurs in the wilderness, factors that influence outcomes, differences between genders, and post-discharge outcomes for young adults.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0886571X.2013.852452?journalCode=wrtc20#preview

In addition to this recent publication, Second Nature researchers will host a symposium and present a paper at the 2014 American Psychological Association (APA) conference in Washington, DC. , a first for this type of research.

Dr. Matt Hoag from Second Nature Entrada and Dr. Mike Gass from the University of New Hampshire will chair a symposium entitled “Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare: Advances in Research and Evaluation”. The symposium will include presentations by seven other researchers from different universities and programs.

In a separate presentation at the APA conference, Matt Hoag, Katie Massey, and Sean Roberts will present on the Second Nature research study examining outcomes for 844 adolescent and young adult clients at 18 months post discharge.