Experience-Based Counseling and Education
This amazing, interactive, and unique approach has been developed and honed throughout our many years of experience in helping people. In essence, experiential counseling is the utilization of experiences to enhance the transformative process and is a vital part of our programs.
Our experiential services are memorable, engaging, and sensory-rich, and they are specifically designed to target our clients’ personal and relational needs. This valuable part of our program brings about enhanced change and incredible realizations. It is also a wonderful way to work on your relational dynamics.
These experiences present a unique opportunity to step away from the office and traditional therapy, providing a transformational complement to your therapeutic journey. We offer approximately 25 diverse experiential exercises that are highly effective for families of all ages in enhancing communication, developing conflict resolution skills, fostering trust and unity, increasing intimacy, building active listening skills, and strengthening relationships. These experiences are rich with practical applications and tailored insights for each individual and for the family unit as a whole. We anticipate that the benefits derived from these experiences will extend well into the future.
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Our enriching experientials
Learn more below about each of our experiential offerings
- Rock Climbing– An incredible opportunity to grow in your connection and trust.
- High Ropes Course – Here you’ll grow in motivating one another and enhancing your personal abilities to reach new goals.
- Low Ropes Course – This is a powerful team building experience in which you’ll learn how to work and function better together and grow in your unity.
- Hiking – Through this interactive experience you’ll grow in your longevity and commitment to one another.
- Equine Therapy – Getting yourself, your spouse, or your kids to do what you want or need is no easy task, and neither is getting a thousand pound animal.
- Kayaking – Time to get in sync. This can often be one of the most difficult things for couples and families to do in but also can be the most rewarding.
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us and take us rock climbing…It was a great experience and we got so much out of the counseling. We LOVED it and the whole day prompted a lot of great discussion. We hope to be able to come again!
– Heather
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENTIAL COUNSELING
WHY UTILIZE EXPERIENTIAL COUNSELING?
1. It Engages All Your Senses for Optimum and Lasting Impact
I have long been trying to tell people that the more senses you engage in any setting the more impact any experience will have. As it turns out, research backs this up.
A study of outdoor experiential therapy (OET) showed that family functioning was positively impacted after two months from the point of treatment, and furthermore, a twelve month assessment revealed that the positive outcomes were still being maintained. Another similar study marked outdoor healthcare as improving family communication. Another states that it is beneficial to help one attain self-confidence and self-esteem. How could this not be true? After all, it is experiences that leave a lasting impact on the brain and heart!
2. It Creates an Environment that Naturally Puts People at Ease and Brings Out the Truth
An important advantage that outdoor experiential therapy has is that it provides an environment that naturally puts people at ease. The Journal of Mental Health Counseling published an article relating to this very point. It stated, “Wilderness therapy, a specialized approach within adventure-based counseling (experiential therapy), provides an alternative treatment modality that maximizes the client’s tendency to spontaneously self-disclose in environments outside the counseling office.” (29(4), 338-349) Therefore, any issues you have to work out will be more easily brought out in an outdoor setting than in a counseling office.
3. It Gets More Accomplished with Less Time
The Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 60(4), 275-281, claims that with wilderness therapy (OET) or experiential therapy more patients can be treated in a shorter timeframe with almost the same outcome. Thus, it is very cost-effective!
4. What the Experts Are Saying…
“Adventure counseling initiatives promote therapeutic gains due to the real-world nature of exposing clients to potential conflicts and problem solving tasks.” (Gillen) Therefore, we see that great benefits are attained just by getting out and taking part in the experience!
“In particular, the group process utilized in many outdoor experiential therapy programs facilitates socially favorable circumstances for group cooperation, team building, group contributions, and leadership. Two additional benefits associated with outdoor experiential therapy in a social context are group decision-making and effective communication. During outdoor experiential or group challenge activities, participants are compelled to learn the art of listening to others (emphasis added). They come to understand that they can offer their own opinion toward resolution of the group’s problems, but they must also accept that others in the group have convictions to which they must listen and evaluate, as well (Schoel, Prouty, & Radcliff, 1988).”
“In sum, it can be seen that given the structure and components usually present in outdoor experiential therapy programs, the benefits gleaned by involvement in these activities transcend a broad spectrum of physical, social, and psychological-based outcomes. Learning to express opinions and propose compromises are parts of a developmental process that plays a pivotal role in effective communication and decision-making within any group situation (emphasis added). Other studies have indicated increased levels of self-actualization and increased perceptions of personal change as a result of participation in an outdoor adventure program (Vogel, 1988/89).” (emphasis added)
This the just the beginning of the benefits to experiential therapy. So why don’t you see for yourself. Come and experience the difference!
References
– Alan W Ewert, Bryan P McCormick, & Alison E Voight. (2001). Outdoor experiential therapies: Implications for TR practice. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 35(2), 107. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document ID: 79774488).
-Cammack, Eva. (1996, May). In-home recreation therapy care: A case study of Dillon. Parks & Recreation, 31(5), 66. Retrieved November 21, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 9643719).
-Eikenæs, I., Gude, T., & Hoffart, A. (2006). Integrated wilderness therapy for avoidant personality disorder. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 60(4), 275-281. doi:10.1080/08039480600790093.
-Gillen, M., & Balkin, R. (2006). Adventure Counseling as an Adjunct to Group Counseling in Hospital and Clinical Settings. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 31(2), 153-164. doi:10.1080/01933920500493746.
-Harper, N., Russell, K., Cooley, R., & Cupples, J. (2007). Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions: An exploratory case study of adolescent wilderness therapy, family functioning, and the maintenance of change. Child & Youth Care Forum, 36(2-3), 111-129. doi:10.1007/s10566-007-9035-1.
-Hill, N. (2007). Wilderness therapy as a treatment modality for at-risk youth: A primer for mental health counselors. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 29(4), 338-349. Retrieved from PsycINFO database.
-Russell, K. (2005). Two Years Later: A Qualitative Assessment of Youth Well-Being and the Role of Aftercare in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Treatment. Child & Youth Care Forum, 34(3), 209-239. doi:10.1007/s10566-005-3470-7.