Almost twenty million American adults have struggled with addiction within the last couple of years. So if you’re interested in improving mental health and physical health, drug addiction recovery might just be the right path for you.
Curious about how adventure therapy works?
From outdoor and indoor activities to hiking and biking, there are tons of options for addiction treatment that come in all different forms. Here are the many benefits of adventure therapy for addiction recovery!
What Is Adventure Therapy?
Adventure therapy is a form of experiential treatment that uses outdoor activities and shared physical challenges to support emotional and psychological healing… The activity creates the moment; the therapeutic guidance helps you understand it, learn from it, and carry that growth back into everyday life.
In the context of recovery, adventure therapy pairs these real-world experiences with proven clinical practices. The activity creates the moment; the therapeutic guidance helps you understand it, learn from it, and carry that growth back into everyday life.
How Adventure Therapy Supports Addiction Recovery
So how does adventure therapy support addiction recovery? By engaging your body and mind at the same time, it helps you practice the very skills that lasting recovery depends on, such as managing stress, building healthy relationships, and facing challenges without turning to substances.
Each activity becomes a safe place to test new coping tools, experience accomplishment, and rediscover a sense of purpose. For many people, that combination of movement, nature, and clinical support makes the work of recovery feel less clinical and more human. With that in mind, here are seven benefits worth knowing.
1. Improves Mental Health
First of all, adventure therapy can work wonders for mental health. It gives people a way to face underlying challenges while recovering from concerns such as:
- Eating disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorders
- Substance use disorders
Adventure therapy can also be a powerful, supportive way to address depression and anxiety. It can help those who are coping with personal loss, and it adds a productive, engaging element to addiction treatment for people managing a range of co-occurring conditions.
How can you possibly beat that?
2. Reconnects You With Nature
As you may already know, taking time to exercise outdoors can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. Besides this, spending more time in nature can also lower the amount of cortisol, or “the stress hormone,” in your body.
But that’s not all. Being surrounded by the natural world can inspire a new feeling of positivity and tranquility. Even better, immersing yourself in a scenic mountain landscape or lush forest can encourage more positive, generous social behaviors.
Besides taking you out of your own head, adventure therapy can help you think about something much bigger than yourself. Ditching technology in nature can potentially regulate nervous system arousal and mood disturbances too. Sounds good to us!
3. Engages Real-Life Experiences
Rather than keeping the focus on your habits and tendencies, adventure therapy reframes the whole therapy experience. When you take your recovery outside of traditional treatment settings, you experience goal-centered activities that shine a light on your own mental health challenges.
Adventure therapy can also promote healing by drawing you away from the patterns you may have turned to instead of facing your real emotions. You’re also removed, for a time, from the everyday triggers that contributed to those challenges in the first place.
By working together to battle a wide range of obstacles, you might enjoy the following activities during your time in adventure-based therapy:
- Using a compass
- Scaling rock walls
- Navigating a river
- Other challenges
Once you can explore your weaknesses and strengths, you’ll be able to take the calculated risks that you need to push your limits in a supportive and safe environment. Simple as that!
4. Improves Personal Development
One of the best parts about trying adventure therapy as part of recovery is the way it supports personal development. It can help you understand your coping strategies, behaviors, and thought processes better than ever before. That newfound awareness offers helpful insight to both clinicians and the people they’re supporting.
For people in recovery, adventure therapy also provides a chance to take an active part in their own treatment by building a greater sense of:
- Empowerment
- Self-awareness
- Responsibility
Additionally, adventure-based therapy can help participants to understand consequences and risks too. In addition to this, it can help you to step out of your comfort zone by giving you a healthier way to face conflicts too. The result is this: A more positive outlook on life altogether.
5. Hones Interpersonal Skills
During an adventure therapy program, you might take part in group activities designed to strengthen your emotional intelligence. When you support others who are also in recovery, you pursue a shared goal together: sobriety.
By improving your ability to speak with others, you’ll be able to receive and give feedback more positively too. Not to mention that respecting your personal boundaries is another critical social skill that you will learn.
When you focus on relating to others in a distraction-free and supportive environment, you may improve your ability to mentor and lead others as well.
6. Provides Physical Activity
Everyone knows that exercising is essential for your overall health, but you might be surprised to find out that it’s also beneficial for your mental health. That’s where adventure therapy comes in. With a focus on regular physical activity, people with depressive disorders might be able to find a more positive outlook once they enter adventure-based therapy.
Physical activity can also support healthy serotonin levels, one of the body’s natural ways of regulating mood. Talk about a natural high!
7. Supports Self-Reflection
Last but not least, participating in adventure-based therapy will allow you to relate to and positively engage in past experiences. Once you come back from your experience in the wilderness, your mental growth will typically be supported in
- Individual therapy sessions
- Group therapy sessions
- Family therapy sessions
On top of that, you’ll most likely be encouraged to express your growth in a journal too. While your therapist won’t read your journals, they’re the perfect place for you to organize and express your thoughts in a safe way. By reflecting on your own mental recovery, you’ll be able to gain new insight about yourself in the process too.
Is Adventure Therapy Effective for Substance Use Disorders?
A growing body of research suggests that adventure therapy for substance abuse can be a meaningful part of a well-rounded treatment plan. Studies on the efficacy of adventure therapy for substance use disorders point to improvements in self-confidence, social connection, and engagement with treatment, all of which can help people stay committed to recovery.
It’s important to know that adventure therapy works best alongside evidence-based care, not as a replacement for it. At its strongest, it’s one part of a holistic, whole-person approach that also includes clinical therapy, medical support, and community. Everyone’s recovery journey is different, and a qualified treatment team can help determine the right combination of care for you or your loved one.
Experience Adventure Therapy at The Ohana in Hawaii
Want to see what the benefits of adventure therapy can look like in one of the most beautiful places on earth? On the Big Island of Hawaii, The Ohana blends adventure therapy with evidence-based and holistic care to create a truly transformative healing experience.
Get in touch with our team of talented experts today, your recovery journey can start here, in paradise.
