The Ecology of Adventure Therapy: An Integral Systems Approach to Therapeutic Change

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Abstract
Currently, a fragmentation in ideas exists regarding understanding psychological wellness and preferred routes to healing. This is evident in current adventure therapy (AT) literature, where unique combinations of experiential learning, challenge activities, novel experiences, group work, and other psychological theories are often used to account for positive outcomes and to explain mechanisms for change. Rarely is contact with wilderness environments included as an important variable associated with positive outcomes and change. AT has been rightly criticized for not recognizing the ecological paradigm of therapy conducted in wild nature. By including principles from integral systems theory, we offer adventure therapists a map, allowing for these seemingly disparate parts to fit together into a coherent whole. In addition, we propose that wilderness is a crucial cofacilitator in the change process. If seriously considered, these ideas pose a number of important questions for AT theory and practice.

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