ABSTRACT
Wilderness therapy serves primarily youth and young adult populations, most commonly providing care for emotional, behavioral, psychological, and/or substance use problems. Substantial differences are found among the ways in which wilderness therapy programs are developed, implemented, and evaluated. Moving forward as a profession, this diversity must be negotiated and reconciled if our goal is to arrive at an integrative wilderness therapy practice. Although research within the field of wilderness therapy has improved over the last two decades and outcome studies have begun to provide evidence of efficacy, there remain limitations in terms of scope, depth, and methodological sophistication. A topic that ties closely to relational dignity is the prevalence of coercion in some wilderness therapy programs. In the United States, youth camping programs and experiential education are commonly referred to as the predecessors of wilderness therapy. The natural environment is important as both a treatment context and co-facilitator in wilderness therapy.
