Longitudinal Outcomes for Youth Transported to Wilderness Therapy Programs

Abstract

Due to the ethical concern around involuntary treatment, this study sought to investigate if youth participants in wilderness therapy who were transported to the program experienced different rates of change than those not transported. Methods: Multilevel modeling techniques were used to investigate rates of change for youth between transported and nontransported youth over 5 points until 6 months postdischarge. In addition, repeated measures analyses of variance investigated parent reports of change over time across transport status, gender, and diagnosis. Results: The findings showed no differences between transported and nontransported youth in changes over time. Overall, all youth improved significantly with changes maintained postdischarge regardless of transport status. Discussion: This study shows that transporting youth to treatment does not appear to interfere with the treatment outcome; however, more research is needed to understand clients' perception of the transport process.

Involuntary Youth Transport (IYT) to Treatment Programs: Best Practices, Research, Ethics, and Future Directions

“…Other professionals emphasize that when properly implemented, coercive admission practices, including IYT, may be a safe resource for youth needing treatment and these practices do not negatively impact treatment outcomes (Hamilton et al, 2020;Hardy, 2011;Tucker et al, 2018). When ascertaining the risks and benefits of coercive treatment, Hardy (2011) reasoned that adolescent treatment coercion "can provide access to a safe treatment environment for reflection and recovery of mental competency, free from negative outside pressure and potential substance abuse" (p. 92).…”

“…In Tucker et al's (2018) study, which further examined transport in relation to treatment outcomes in 645 adolescents across four wilderness program sites, 64.5% entered via IYT. In contrast to the previous study, this research found similar overall dysfunction levels among adolescents at admission irrespective of IYT.…”

Adventure Therapy Treatment for Young Adult Males Struggling with Addictions

“…Consistent with research in developmental psychology, older participants tend to have a greater cognitive capacity for decision-making, problem-solving, abstract thinking, reasoning, and self-regulation, which could help explain some of these differences based on the age of the participant. In addition, there is recent evidence (Tucker et al, 2018) that adolescents involuntarily admitted to adventure therapy programs have treatment outcomes no different from those who were voluntarily admitted.…”

Adventure Therapy and Routine Outcome Monitoring of Treatment: The Time Is Now

“…Our search through the literature has found unjustified claims stemming from research agendas aligned with the paradigm of evidence-based practice as they relate to AT (Dobud & Harper, 2018; Harper, 2010). For example, treatment completion rates have been reported in OBH at 97% (Russell, 2003) and 94% (Gass et al, 2019) without acknowledging that OBH is often an involuntary treatment where adolescents are not given the right to disengage (Becker, 2010; Tucker et al, 2018). Gass et al (2019) utilized these high completion rates to suggest greater cost benefit for adolescents participating in OBH over a TAU group, again without mentioning involuntary treatment or lack of client autonomy or choice in treatment processes or participation.…”

“…Meta-analyses have found this relational bond between the therapist and client, consensus about the purpose or goals, and the means or methods of the therapy to be a significant indicator of a positive experience of care (Del Re et al, 2012; Gelso et al, 2018; Norcross & Lambert, 2011). These factors surely increase in difficulty when young clients are involuntarily admitted or transported to programs, as they can be in WT, and are therefore worth further consideration (Tucker et al, 2018).…”