Adventure-Based Experiences during Professional Training in Psychology: A Follow-up Study

Abstract

Postgraduate counselling psychology training at the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa (SA), is done according to the researcher-practitioner model. An important aspect that is addressed during the unfolding of the postgraduate counselling psychology programme is professional development, which consists of professional practice and personal growth. Professional practice addresses the legislative context of practising psychology in SA, while personal growth focuses on the "person" of the postgraduate counselling psychology students. During the programme personal growth is addressed through supervision, counselling and an adventure experience. The purpose of this research is to describe the personal growth of 19 students through an adventure experience in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, SA. The students participated in various adventure activities (archery, obstacle course, sea kayaking, sea rafting, abseiling), as well as in eight group debriefing sessions. At the end of the adventure experience the students reflected in writing on their adventure experience. The research was conducted from a descriptive phenomenological position and the written reflections analysed according to the Duquesne Phenomenological Research Method (DPRM). From the analysis it seems that the essence of the students' personal growth pertained to students growing in awareness; challenging their boundaries; discovering uniqueness, creating trust amongst one another and demonstrating the ability to collectively establish group cohesion.

Effectiveness of an Adventure-based Cognitive Behavioral Program for Hong Kong University Students

“…This type of training also enhances self-concept (Finkenberg, Shows, & Dinucci, 1994), is more effective in facilitating critical thinking, encourages connecting with peers and engaging with peers out-of-classroom, increases knowledge of wellness, and improves time and priority management (Bell, 2012). In addition, adventure activities promote professional and personal growth, including increased self-awareness, and challenge personal boundaries by “discovering uniqueness, creating trust among one another, and demonstrating the ability to collectively establish group cohesion” (Human, 2012, p. 586; Human, 2006). University students show high levels of enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor adventure education and report significant improvement in the use of group work skills, attitudes toward group work, and group work self-efficacy after joining the adventure education (Cooley, Burns, & Cumming, 2016).…”

3 in 1 Effect When Using Adventure Based Learning Approach in Basic Statistics Class

“…Studies in the field of counseling and psychology support this. Human (2012) conducted a study on 19 postgraduate students. Four people are male, and 15 are female.…”

Psikolojik Danışma Sürecinde Yeni Bir Model: Macera Terapisi / A New Model for the Psychological Counseling: Adventure Therapy

“…Macera terapisi ile ilgili yapılan araştırmalarda, terapötik) ya da gelişimsel odaklı çalışmaların, eğitsel odaklı olana göre daha yüksek etki büyüklüğüne sahip olduğu gözlenmiştir (Gillis ve Speelman, 2008). Eğitsel amaçlı macera terapisinin; öğrencilerin kişisel gelişimleri, farkındalıkları, sınırlarına meydan okumaları, biricik olduklarını keşfetmeleri; diğerlerine güven geliştirmeleri ve grup kohezyonunu birlikte kurmaları anlamında onlarda gelişim sağladığı tespit edilmiştir (Human, 2012). Araştırma sonuçlarına göre açık hava macera grubunda öz yeterlikte (Cordle ve ark., 2016), uzmanlıkta ve kişisel hedef performansında artış, hayat etkililiği, terapi motivasyonu, terapötik ittifak ve disfonksiyonel tutumlarda anlamlı değişim (Hoag ve ark., 2013), problem davranışlarda azalma gözlenmiştir (Robertson, 1997;Schell, Cotton ve Luxmoore, 2010;O'shea, 2005).…”