More Information About Wilderness Programs, Therapy, and Troubled Teens

This Is How We Grow: One Woman's Introduction to Wilderness Therapy

By Meghan Vivo

Wilderness therapy is a uniquely effective way to reach teens and young adults who are struggling with substance abuse and other emotional and behavioral issues. At wilderness camp, young people spend weeks exploring the wilderness, learning to cooperate with a new group of peers, and participating in group and individual therapy under the stars.

Young people often participate in a wilderness therapy program because they need to, not because they necessarily want to. But that wasn’t the case for Kate Brown, the business manager at Passages To Recovery, an addiction and substance abuse treatment program for men ages 18-30 set in the pristine wilderness of south central Utah.

Kate works behind the scenes in a comfortable office at Passages To Recovery, where her passion for changing people’s lives is apparent in her work ethic and commitment to the clients and families that come to the wilderness therapy program. Although Kate had seen the phenomenal turnarounds consistently achieved by clients at Passages To Recovery, she knew she couldn’t fully understand the healing impact of the wilderness without experiencing it for herself.

Three Days in the Field

To help her relate to her clients’ experiences, Kate decided to spend three days and two nights in the field at Passages To Recovery with a team of field guides and a group of young men struggling with addiction and substance abuse. She participated as though she were a new client being introduced to the group, performing all of the same tasks as the young men, and working, hiking, and participating in therapy right alongside them.

Kate was particularly moved by the open, trusting way the participants interacted and the stories the young men shared in group therapy. “I was most surprised at how real these guys were being – it was really admirable,” she said. “They told their life stories, some of which were incredibly painful, and the others listened compassionately and offered honest, perceptive feedback. That’s something I haven’t seen in other treatment settings.”

The meals during those three days, Kate reports, were “phenomenal.” She participated in chores like caring for the group’s llamas, cleaning up the campsite, and cooking and meal preparation, dining on treats like Sloppy Joes and pasta Alfredo with fresh vegetables. She even tried to make fire with a bow drill, a rite of passage the young men strive to accomplish during treatment.

“I wanted it so bad. I wanted to show everyone I could do it,” she reported. “It’s frustrating to try so hard and still not be able to do it.”

But that’s the kind of frustration that later turns into success, breeding confidence and a sense of self-efficacy in students of wilderness rehab. Kate had the privilege of seeing one particularly quiet and reserved young man “bust a coal” for the first time with the support and encouragement of his peers. “To see him have that success after working so hard, and to have that success enable us to share a hot meal, was so gratifying,” she noted.

Building fire is just one of the challenges young people confront (and overcome) in wilderness therapy. The participants also hike nearly every day, up and down hills, across streams, all the while carrying backpacks and leading llamas loaded with gear to set up the campsite at sundown. Though every task is entirely manageable, the challenge is completing each task with a positive attitude, with a sense of teamwork and cooperation, and without being able to turn to old crutches like drugs or alcohol.

Tough Lessons and a Taste of Success

Kate’s time in the wilderness wasn’t without a few tough lessons. On her first night in the field, she set up her tarp incorrectly and got wet. She also learned one of the cardinal lessons of camping after setting up her tent on a hill rather than a flat surface and sliding all over throughout the night.

“I was so scared being out there alone in my tent, in the dark that first night,” she recalled. “I’m not generally a spiritual person, but out there, I got spiritual. I kept asking God for help to get through the night. I just kept repeating, ‘This is a learning experience – when we get out of our comfort zone, this is how we grow.’”

But each night got easier and more comfortable as she settled into wilderness life, and she quickly began to understand why wilderness therapy has changed so many lives. The combination of challenge and success, frustration and gratitude, and the simple silence of nature set the stage of a real emotional, spiritual, and physical transformation. 

Kate’s wilderness experience culminated in one of the most profound rites of passage at Passages To Recovery: the sweat lodge. Together with the field staff and clients, Kate spent three hours in the dark “hut,” sweating out of every pore, singing songs, and sharing stories. Even with 10-minute breaks, it was a challenge to complete all four rounds in the lodge, but the end result was “exhilarating.”

“It was partly what I expected and partly nothing like I’d pictured,” Kate said. “I kept thinking, ‘What the heck am I doing? I could be in my office getting work done!’ But looking back, I think it was an integral part of my process working here and being part of this organization. I was exhausted after it, but I somehow felt lighter. It was so emotional and cleansing.”

The group of young men was equally excited about the experience. Being far out of their comfort zones, immersed in an unfamiliar environment with an unfamiliar group of peers and staff, actually gave the participants a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dig deep into themselves, think about their past decisions and the direction of their futures, and get honest with themselves without fear of judgment. By tapping into their own reserves, they were able to accomplish more than they ever thought possible – a life lesson they took with them as they continued down their path toward recovery.

Despite the challenges she faced in those three short days, Kate is anxious to make a wilderness trek an annual tradition. “But next time, I’ll step it up and go on solo.”

 

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