What is a wilderness therapy program?
A wilderness therapy program has the following characteristics:

• The program is licensed by a state agency
• Clients have regular contact with a licensed mental health practitioner (clinical therapist)
• The therapist works with the family to help them understand the nature of the client’s behaviors and enhance treatment objectives
• Field guides have training in specialty areas appropriate for the clientele (substance abuse, de-escalation skills, et cetera)
• Clients have individualized treatment plans that are monitored by licensed therapeutic staff
• Formal evaluations of treatment effectiveness are conducted to determine treatment effectiveness
• Therapists work with aftercare services and the family to ensure that progress made by the client can be maintained
• Wilderness therapy takes place in a group setting where group development processes facilitate learning
• The outdoor environment is utilized to help the client leave their familiar culture behind and have a unique experience that will facilitate meeting specified learning objectives

Russell, K. C. (2001). What is Wilderness Therapy? The Journal of Experiential Education. Fall 2001, Volume 24, No. 2. pp. 70-79.

Does Open Sky Wilderness Therapy meet all of the above criteria?

Yes.

Does wilderness therapy produce positive results?
The data says yes. A 2003 study on 858 teen clients in wilderness therapy and found that participating in wilderness treatment reduced behavioral and emotional symptoms of teens significantly (Russell, 2003). Russell’s study is notable in that it found statistically significant improvements in teens regardless of gender, age or diagnosis.

Russell, K.C. (2003). An assessment of outcomes in outdoor behavioral healthcare treatment. Child and Youth Care Forum, 32 (6), 355-381.

So the research says a wilderness intervention produces positive results – do these changes maintain over time?
The data says yes. A 2005 study on the same teen clients two years after their wilderness treatment found that 80% of their parents identified the teens as generally doing well. These parents, reflecting two years after sending their children to wilderness treatment, identified a number of gains their children had made. These gains were described as learning a sense of responsibility, developing a positive attitude, developing emotional maturity, learning cognitive skills, and growing interpersonal skills. Similarly, 94% of the teens who attended wilderness treatment reported two years later that the treatment was effective for them (Russell, 2005).

Russell, K.C. (2005). Two years later: A qualitative assessment of youth-well-being and the role of aftercare in outdoor behavioral healthcare treatment. Child and Youth Care Forum, 34(3), 209-239.