Constructive Enabling: Applying a Wilderness Skills Intervention to Support the Therapeutic Change Process of Adolescent Females in Residential Treatment
The purpose of this study was to explore the potential benefits of a primitive wilderness skills intervention (POST) on the therapeutic change process of adolescent females enrolled in a residential treatment center. A qualitative data analysis approach was used. A convenience sample of eight female adolescents was selected by therapist referral. The data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Data analysis was used to assess participants' progress in the therapeutic change. Further analysis revealed a core theme connecting participants' POST experience with feelings of self-empowerment and reflective connections to their individual therapeutic change process. Constructive enabling was the gerund provided to represent this core theme. Attributes of constructive enabling included the opportunity for creative expression, the recognition of and reliance on social resources, the application of individual effort in challenging situations, the completion of a finished product, and the facilitation of reflective thought.
adolescence, adolescent treatment, therapeutic change, primitive wilderness skills, recreation therapy, wilderness therapy, residential treatment, Recreation Business
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