Is Wilderness Therapy Effective in Treating Troubled Adolescent Girls?

Abstract

In the spring of 2012, I did an internship and service learning project in Southern Maine with theFort Williams Arboretum Project,a group whose maingoalisbettering the community bypreserving thenatural spaceof Fort Williams.In conjunction with this project, I did research onwilderness therapy programs for adolescent girls. This paper asks whether these programs areeffectiveand, if so, in what ways. My interest in this topic stems from my personal history as atroubled adolescent and my belief that there is something inherently healing in nature.