Wilderness Therapy

THE LINK BETWEEN NATURE AND RECOVERY

Wilderness Therapy

If you or someone close to you is struggling with addiction, many Florida holistic treatment options can be integrated into your individual and group therapy sessions. With wilderness therapy programs, Florida residents can enjoy exposure to all of the natural beauty that Florida has to offer while embarking on a reflective experience full of personal growth.

Wilderness Therapy Explained

What is Wilderness Therapy?

Wilderness therapy may seem like a somewhat new idea, but it has been successfully studied for its efficacy since the beginning of the 1990s. Research at that time covered wilderness therapy programs in Florida as an emerging intervention to treat psychological problems, addiction, adjustment issues, and emotional problems.

As the name suggests, wilderness therapy is any type of program where you are integrated into nature, where you spend time in the wild. You are immersed into an unfamiliar environment where you master primitive skills like Backcountry travel or fire-making, all designed to help address things like problem behaviors while fostering personal and social responsibility among a group of peers.

Wilderness therapy does involve being outside, but it has a very low risk of physical injury especially compared to activities like driving or high contact sports. What’s more, a big part of this type of activity is making sure that you are safe and secure the entire time and that you learn how to care for yourself and how to care for others when it comes to basic outdoor survival.

For wilderness therapy programs Florida-based, contact Prevail Recovery.

How Does Wilderness Therapy Help?

How Does Wilderness Therapy Work in Addiction Treatment?

Different South Florida wilderness treatment plans might include contained wilderness programs or continuous programs.

Contained vs. Continuous Florida Wilderness Therapy

Contained programs are those where you go on a type of expedition like a camping trip, and you do it for a specific length of time. This could be a one-week expedition or a three-week expedition. Whatever the length, you stay with the leaders for the duration of the trip, and you typically remain in nature.

Conversely, continuous programs are those where you might go in and out of nature for regular experiences or adventures, and you might have different leaders each time. This type of therapeutic process can be much longer because you don’t have to remain out in nature, but rather, you can visit periodically.

Stages of Wilderness Therapy: Florida- Based

No matter the length or type of program, it has the same structure. It includes a cleansing face where you might embark on an outdoor pursuit like backpacking and focus on your surroundings, being in nature.

After that, you might transition into a personal and social responsibility, where you focus on learning new skills like building fires and spending a lot of reflective time alone. You can also acquire plenty of skills about self-care and group safety in the wilderness, how to deal with natural disasters or weather changes, and how to create a safe environment when things are difficult.

The educational curricula and the application of real and metaphoric lessons for when you return to your daily life and still struggle proved very helpful.

Wilderness therapy is not the only part of your recovery plan. A Florida wilderness therapy should be one part of your comprehensive therapy program if you are looking for addiction treatment. This type of therapy can include day trips or long-term contained trips with other group members, all of whom are learning important life skills, getting exercise, enjoying leadership training, working to express themselves verbally, and working together as a team.

Day trips like hiking or rock climbing can help you relax much more than you might while sitting in a doctor’s office being asked a series of questions about your feelings. Situations where you are in nature hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, or camping, can help you lower your guard and display behavioral patterns that your therapist might not be able to see in any other setting. This can prove helpful in allowing your therapist a better idea of how to treat you long-term and how well you are progressing with certain life skills and social skills.

Let Prevail Recovery help you find Wilderness Therapy programs in South Florida.

Why Choose Wilderness Therapy

What Are the Benefits of Wilderness Therapy?

Connecting with nature brings so many positive benefits. Breathing in the fresh air can help improve your physical health, while the deep breathing associated with things like hikes can serve as a meditative way to slow down clavicular breathing and help you relax and reduce stress.

Being in nature means exposure to bright colors and shapes that are therapeutic. Exposure to the color green can enhance creativity and improve your mood. Moreover, being in nature helps you cultivate basic survival skills knowing that you can take care of yourself if you need to. Being with other people as part of a wilderness therapy program improves your feelings of connectedness and belonging and helps you create that sense of trust, especially with the leaders.

With South Florida wilderness treatment, you can reap many benefits that improve socialization and self-esteem, building long-term results. For example:

Wilderness therapy has proved a promising complementary and integrative intervention for people who are struggling with trauma. The effectiveness of wilderness therapy as a trauma-informed therapy can help psychophysiological functioning, family functioning, and psychological well-being.
International research has proven the effectiveness of wilderness therapy for mental health treatment. This research found that individuals who completed wilderness therapy had improved executive function and maintained better mental health in a 12-month follow-up. This proved that with wilderness therapy programs, Florida residents could enjoy immediate benefits and long-term benefits.
Research has found that wilderness therapy improves social dynamics and is seen as a positive form of treatment for people struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues.

If you are ready for wilderness therapy in South Florida, let Prevail Recovery help.

FIND OUT THE RANGE OF ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY

How to Find Wilderness Therapy Treatment for Recovery in South Florida

If you are ready to find wilderness therapy, Florida has many options for you. You can reach out to different recovery centers to find wilderness therapy programs that fit your schedule and your needs. If you are not a fan of overnight camping, Wilderness therapy in South Florida might take the form of day trips or hikes. Conversely, if you want to be able to get away from it all for longer lengths of time, the contained trips that last multiple weeks might be a better solution. To find a program that works best for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to Prevail Recovery and talk about the different options available to you.

With Prevail Recovery, we focus on Florida dual diagnosis treatment while integrating holistic and evidence-based therapy programs. This means we utilize Florida wilderness therapy for people struggling with substance abuse and people who are struggling with coexisting mental health issues. Our team is full of compassionate, skilled individuals who are here to help you as you move along your path to long-term recovery.

At Prevail Recovery, we understand that one of the most important parts of your treatment is finding a program that integrates holistic care on a personalized level. We specialize in an array of relapse prevention, integrative medicine, nutrition, and holistic therapies that are all designed to heal your body and mind as one.

Prevail Recovery is a premier Florida rehab center. Reach out to us today or call 1-866-441-2455 for help with your addiction.