ADVENTURE RECOVERY MISSION

The Adventure Recovery mission is to guide people through the internal and external wilderness, cultivating a lifelong passion for learning and adventure.

Growth doesn't take place in a vacuum. Awareness of self must be experienced in the full capacity of life. Working with individuals now, I see them take newfound skills into new environments, where they can grapple with change. This is where the rubber meets the road, in the real world.” —Nate Bennick, National Field Director for Adventure Recovery

One of our peers is an expert in the fields of mental health and addiction treatment and he refers to Adventure Recovery as “wilderness outpatient”. It’s not the exact definition that encompasses what we do but for the sake of conversation, it works. Many of our team members, including Nate Bennick, National Field Director, Seth Gottlieb, National Field Manager, and Rourke Weaver, Community Relations Director, have direct experience in traditional wilderness therapy models, having served in leadership roles as program directors, milieu coordinators, and field guides. Our crew is well-versed and familiar with wilderness treatment and modalities. Furthermore, in creating AR, we are forging something distinctive and complimentary based on our decades of background and experience in the mental health and addiction fields. What do we really mean when we say wilderness outpatient?

What Is AR Wilderness Outpatient?

Traditionally, outpatient is defined as: healthcare services provided on an outpatient basis, receiving structured support while still engaging in your day-to-day life. This type of care can be appealing because one is able to heal in the context of home, in other words — in one’s natural habitat. 

Environment and habits impact us and our perspectives greatly. Where we spend our time, who we spend it with, and how we fill our days can determine our mental and physical well-being. There are some basic elements that go into a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, rest, connection, self-care, confidence, challenges, personal responsibility, the capacity to ask for help—all impact our well-being. We’ve learned that exercise is vital for our health— both physical and mental. In addition, relationships play a significant role and studies show that social connection can help prevent a sedentary lifestyle and depression. Furthermore, research shows that when we feel a sense of community and purpose, we tend to bounce back from setbacks, with deeper resilience and emotional stability overall. 

Time in nature has many positive benefits and serves as a perfect backdrop to learn and apply new behaviors. The research reveals that wilderness has a favorable impact on mood and disposition, brain function and cognition, and can boost our immunity. In addition, there are multiple evidence-based reasons cited in scientific studies as to why nature and adventure serve mental health. Adventure in nature can be utilized as a prevention tool for dangerous high-risk behaviors, and studies show greenspaces can positively affect substance use disorder. Some factors contributing to the outcomes include diminished stress, greater capacity for healthy relationship building, and self-awareness. These factors are significant when it comes to addiction and mental health care.

The Mind in Motion

When we move our bodies intentionally in natural settings, we initiate multiple avenues of well-being. Exercise invigorates and releases happy hormones and neurotransmitters, which benefit our physiology and psychology. What’s more, the immune system is influenced, according to recent research. The evidence is clear that when regularly immersed in activities outside, mood is improved, and general disposition is uplifted. We feel better, period. Furthermore, the results for mental health support increase with coaching and peer support. Together, we learn new tools, challenge ourselves and one another, and develop healthy capacity and self-efficacy. We build confidence and community simultaneously. This is powerful and appealing for many since learning adventure skills ensures consistent and sustainable results that one can apply daily in their own lives. To reap the benefits, we must develop new habits and skills and exploring outdoors is the perfect way to cultivate a healthy body and a healthy mind. Adventure is a mindset—a way of life. And, the bottom line is, it works. We see it time and again. Movement, connection, growth.

Wilderness as a Way of Life

Wilderness therapy can have a powerful effect on mental health and substance use disorder clients. And there are challenges to being removed from daily life for treatment to consider, especially upon re-entry. When we are trying to learn new, healthful habits it can feel easy to apply when we’re in a new place. But, applying the positive patterns in the same environment where we developed toxic, destructive behaviors is a whole other story. What happens when we return home from a wilderness or residential treatment program, and we’re faced with the same stressors that existed before we went into treatment? And how do we maintain the positive habits we acquired while in the treatment environment? These are the important questions we set out to answer.

Many of us know this experience first-hand. We went away to treatment and upon returning home, we lose momentum, fall into old patterns, or fall off the path. Perhaps we’re triggered or we are influenced by unhealthy peers or family members. We may end up back in an abusive situation or feel unable to change. Or we may not feel confident to face the world or engage in activities outside. So, what do we need? Support, guidance, connection—these are all key. And, for many of us, sitting in a group setting helps, but we need more—we need to move our bodies, breathe fresh air, develop self-efficacy, and create new patterns.

Is Adventure Recovery Outpatient?

Time outside is an impactful intervention, and the goal is to learn how to apply an adventure mindset to our daily lives. Here, at AR, we aren’t just weekend warriors. Immersive time outdoors is a huge part of our lives and our habit patterns. It informs our perspective. We’ve learned that in order to sustain the healing power of the tools we cultivate outside; we have to be consistent. When we learn new ways to care for ourselves, develop relationships with like-minded individuals, and feel motivated each day, it is far easier to create lasting change. This is how we find healing—in the ongoing community striving towards the same goal of adventure. At the end of the day, it’s the joy we experience outside, together, that keeps us coming back. Life is meant to be joyful. It is challenging, but also fun. 

Hence, Adventure Recovery outpatient is a slight misnomer but helps others understand the work we do. Traditional outpatient offers structured time in a clinic or facility, often including one-on-one therapy and group activities to help a client feel connected and continue the recovery path with a continuum of support. These programs tend to be clinical, and insurance driven. Some use experiential therapies but to comply with the rigor of medical, insurance-based models, programming is usually with licensed clinicians, typically indoors. This can limit the opportunity for integration and real-life application.

Call us any time at 1-888-710-7017 or email info@adventurerecovery.com

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