Group Adventure Therapy *DRAFT*
This section is intended to discuss the use of group treatment and the application of AT to this treatment context, which is the most common social context associated with AT. Group adventure therapy is the use of adventure therapy practice in group settings to address therapeutic goals. In this social context, adventure activities are used as the catalyst for the development of the group into a functional, effectively performing team. Group members are provided the opportunity to work toward mastery in a variety of areas. These may include addressing social or behavioral problems, self-efficacy, problem solving skills, modes of coping, communicating with others, or self-acceptance. The group social context allows a unique opportunity for development of a genuine community and provision of mutual aid by participants (Yalom, 1995 ; Berman & Davis-Berman, 1994; Corsini & Wedding, 2004; Neri, 2003; Newes, 2000; Schoel & Maizell, 2002; Gillis, 1998; Gillis & Gass, 2003; Newes & Bandoroff, 2004; Russell, 2004; Russell, 2003a; Newes, 2000.
Practitioner Guidelines
1. The basic tenets of standard group practice as derived from social work, psychology, and counseling literature also apply to adventure group therapy (Russell, 2003a; Newes & Bandoroff, 2004, Newes, 2000; Ethical Guidelines for Social Work, Counseling, Psychology and Mental Health literature).
2. The issues that unfold during the process of the activity are the primary focus of each treatment session. Adventure group therapists attend to the process and issues that unfold during the group session, not the pre-designed or desired plan of the facilitator. This guideline requires that the facilitator maintain the flexibility to deal with spontaneous issues that arise in the moment. Adventure group therapists intentionally focus on the dynamic issues during the course of an activity rather than exclusively attending to the concrete results, such as success or failure, of the group efforts (Lung, Stauffer & Alvarez, 2008; Itin, 2003).
3. Use assessment data to inform and guide treatment decisions. Engage in activities with the intention of gathering assessment data about individual clients, as well as about the functioning level of the group and the nature of the group environment (Russell, 2003a; Russell, 2003b; American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IVTR (2000); Schoel & Maizel, 2002; Gass & Gillis, 1995; Alvarez & Stauffer, 2001; Nadler & Luckner, 1992; Kimball, 1993; Russell, 2004; Schoel, Radcliffe & Prouty, 1988; Russell, 2001; Priest & Gass, 1999; Gillis & Thomsen, 1996; Gillis, 1998; Gillis, 1992; Gass, 1993; Itin, 2003).
4. Apply a “theory of use” (Stanchfield, 2007) to the practice of adventure group therapy. That is, practitioners are urged to choose a preferred theory of human growth and change to their practice of adventure group therapy. It is the application of this theory that moves the group work processes into therapy as opposed to recreation, education, or youth development models of practice, for example. It is the practitioner’s choice of theory that will move the group sessions into dealing with “change directed at a meta-process level (behaviors, cognitions, and unconscious processes that impede or support therapeutic change).” (Itin, geocites_definitions web page, 2008; Newes & Bandoroff, 2004; Gillis, 1992; Ringer, 1994; Gerstein, 1992; Itin, 1999, 2001, 2003)
5. Attend to issues related to group composition.
- Client Safety: The expectation that clients in an adventure therapy group will engage in self-disclosure during the process of group sessions requires that facilitators vigilantly attend to safety issues throughout the process, from the choice of group members who will share the experience through establishment of group norms and decsions about what activities are safe for everyone.
- Gender issues: in both mixed and same-gender groups.
- Homogeneity versus heterogeneity: in terms of descriptive factors of group members. For example, a group of 8 boys with symptoms of ADHD is homogenous in terms of that one descriptive factor. Managing that issue will be a significant task for the facilitator.
- Size of the group: safety issues as well as type of activity and facilitation tasks are all affected by the sheer size of the client group.
- Personal and physical boundaries: issues related to boundaries need to be attended to by the facilitator in the process of creating an environment most conducive to change and growth.
- Diversity: factors of age, class, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ability.
6. Attend to issues related to the structure of the group, including closed versus open-ended enrollment, frequency and duration of the intervention, supervision expectations, and staffing.
7. Use activities to establish desired group norms and beliefs within the therapeutic environment. The beliefs and norms desired will vary depending on the developmental, emotional, and cognitive level of the clients, as well as the specific goals of the intervention.
8. Work intentionally to develop client engagement and participation in a mutually agreed upon treatment contract.
9. Choose activities and interventions based on an assessment of the needs of the client and the conditions present in the group environment.
10. Focus on empowerment of the target population through use of the following techniques:
- Allow clients to experience the consequences of their choices, within safe parameters. This tenet embraces the basic concept of experiential education that people learn more by struggling with problems than by being given the solution.
- Work intentionally to give clients control over their learning, which comes from an internal sense of perceived freedom to make their own choices and deal with the consequences.
- Establish a protocol within the group for members to choose their level of involvement in activities.
- Help clients to establish healthy boundaries that protect them physically and emotionally.
11. Seize the opportunity created by the shared nature of the activity within the group to model desired behaviors:
- Effective methods of dealing with and solving problems that are within the client’s sphere of influence.
- Effective coping mechanisms for managing problems that the client cannot change.
- Effective communication skills.
- Positive relationship skills, including accepting and giving feedback, addressing problems, and negotiating boundaries and intimacy.
12. Facilitate the development of awareness and integration of the experience of participating in a functional community where mutual aid is the norm. These issues include how to manage failure, frustration, errors as well as successes, achievements, intimacy, and social relationships within the group context.
13. Facilitate opportunities for group members to work toward and experiment with mastery in desired treatment outcomes.
14. Work intentionally to provide a diversity of opportunities for clients to reflect on what they experienced in the group and connect it to other life situations. Reflection may come in times of solitude, times of discussion, opportunities to write or draw or construct something that represents their experience, times filled with music, and times of additional physical activity aimed at integrating the experience.
Bibliography
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Alvarez, T. & Stauffer, G. (2001). Musings on Adventure Therapy. Journal of Experiential Education. 24(2), 85-91.
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