In an article on the website of The Guardian, writer Louise Tickle reported on growing support in Great Britain for the positive benefits of wilderness programs for struggling teens:
"Being in a true wilderness means having to work with things you can't change," says [Jo Roberts, chief executive of the Wilderness Foundation UK'.
If someone has anger management issues or a history of violence, it's often rooted, she says, in a deeply felt frustration with the world. But there's no point in being angry or frustrated with nature. You just have to get on and solve the problems it throws at you -- because if you don't, you can't shout, punch or even negotiate away the consequences.
Plenty of international research is emerging to show that there are health benefits to spending time in the natural environment, says Roberts. Taking this a step further, lots of people believe from long experience -- in Roberts's case, years working in South African townships -- that lifting disturbed youth out of destructive home environments in stressful urban settings and putting them in the great outdoors can be a catalyst for transformation.
Labels: wilderness_therapy
Posted By: Aspen/CRC