2018/12/12 by Carina R. Fernee, Carina Ribe Fernee, Terje Mesel +4
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking #Outdoor and Experiential Education #Youth Development and Social Support
paper · doi:10.1177/1049732318816301
openalex publication_date 2018/12/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Wilderness therapy has the potential to meet the specific needs of the current adolescent population by providing a rather unique outdoor group treatment. Wilderness therapy is not a new approach to mental health treatment, but its theoretical basis is not yet clearly delineated, in part because of the diversity found across programs and contexts. This article presents a critical realist exploration of a wilderness therapy program that was recently implemented as part of adolescent mental health services in Southern Norway. In this study, we combine fieldwork and interviews for an in-depth investigation of the treatment process, where the objective was to acquire a deeper understanding of the opportunities that arise in the wilderness therapy setting. The therapeutic mechanisms and influential contextual premises found across the ecological, physical, and psychosocial factors of this multidimensional approach to treatment are presented, and their underlying conditions are briefly discussed.