Week 3: Comparing Approaches

Topic: Compare and contrast the approach to AT treatment presented in Chapter 3 to at least 3 different approaches to mental health treatment.


In Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, Gass, Gillis, and Russell explain an integrative approach that is used in the field of AT (2012). This approach is termed the ABC-R model, which stands for Affect, Behavior, Cognition, and Relationships. The text explains how adventure therapists are able to use this model to adapt to the client’s needs. The therapist will recognize where to start with a client, utilizing the client’s affect, behavior, or cognition as an initial way to make a connection. Once the therapist has made it this far, the text explains how important the building of quality relationships is in the ability for the therapist to access the other two components. The relationship between the therapist and the client is definitely the highest priority, but other relationships, like with the family or field staff are important as well.

Group therapy is closely related to the AT therapeutic approach due to the fact that they both utilize a combination of the foundational psychotherapeutic schools of thought, like psychoanalytic, interpersonal, behavioral, and cognitive psychology among others. Here is the American Group Psychotherapy Association website.

Art Therapy is quite similar to AT. Other than the fact that one utilizes adventure and the other art, both share the common approach to meet the client where he or she is. According to the American Art Therapy Association’s website, art therapists are trained to bring out clients' inherent art producing abilities to access their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 

Another approach to mental illness treatment is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). According to Behavioral Tech, LLC, DBT was first created for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder in response to problems that surfaced when applying the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach. Essentially DBT is a form of CBT with three significant added, or more focused strategies; validation of feelings and thoughts, desire to change, and dialectical strategies which serve as the means to balance acceptance (validation) and change. Practicing mindfulness is essential to this process. This approach is extremely client driven and requires the therapist to meet the client where he or she is, just like the AT approach.

It seems clear that all of these approaches have in some way come about due to a recognized need for psychotherapy to be more adaptable to clients' needs as opposed to applying a specific and rigid approach that leaves little room for sufficient adjustments. All of these can be used individually (other than group therapy) or in a group setting or can utilize a combination of the two. It seems as though the more flexible an approach can be without jeopardizing the integrity of the treatment.



References:

American Art Therapy Association. Retrieved from: http://www.arttherapy.org

American Group Psychotherapy Association. Retrieved from: http://www.agpa.org

Behavioral Tech, LLC. DBT Resources: What is DBT? Retrieved from: http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm.

Gass, M. A., Gillis, H. L., & Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Week 2: AT History vs. PSYC History

Topic: What are your insights from creating a timeline of the history of AT superimposed on (selected events from) the history of psychology and/or psychotherapy?


I decided to conquer the world of concept mapping by utilizing the 'Simple Mapper' website. Initially, I did not find it exceptionally simple. Once I figured out how the program worked, however, I found myself enjoying the process of creating my concept map: AT History v. PSYC History. The history of AT was summarized from Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice by Gass, Gillis, and Russell. I utilized a timeline from the 'AllPsyc Online' website to choose events from the history of psychology to compare the two fields. These events mostly include the dates marking the beginning of a new school of psychological thought as well as the development of the profession. Similarly, the AT events mostly include dates marking the beginning of a new program, camp, or organization and also the development of the profession.

From the view of my concept map, psychology events dominate from the late 1800s to mid 1900s. From the 1950s to the present day, the map shows less and less psychology events and more and more AT events, mostly representing a major boom in adventure and AT programming. Ultimately, the major schools of psychological thought developed between the late 1800s and mid 1900s. After the 1950s, most of the psychology events revolve around the development of the field, including the development of the DSM. 

Although the first intentional therapeutic adventure camp, Camp Ramapo, began in 1922, most other camps and organizations prior to the first publication of the DSM were primarily focused on building the character of youth. While these experiences were undoubtedly therapeutic for participants, they did not incorporate intentional, prescriptive therapy. Ten to twenty years after the first DSM was published, programs like Outward Bound and the Brigham Young University 480 course began to emerge. These programs incorporated more intense wilderness adventure experiences. By the 1970s, programs like Project Adventure, Expedition Outreach, and the Santa Fe Mountain Center began to appear, focusing on intentional adventure based therapy and counseling services. 

It appears that the more sophisticated the field of psychology became, the more it was incorporated into adventure activities and eventually programs were being introduced that fit the definition of Adventure Therapy provided by Gass, Gillis, Russell (2012). The field of psychology developed means for establishing standards and guidelines, as well as research practices, very early in its history by way of the American Psychological Association. AT has more recently developed professional organizations, however, research and time is needed to develop quality standards and reliable best practices.

References:

Gass, M. A., Gillis, H. L., & Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Heffner, C. L. (2003, August 19). AllPsych Online. History of Psychology: 387 BC to Present. Retrieved from AllPsych: http://allpsych.com/timeline.html

Simple Mapper: Concept Maps, Network Diagrams and Workflows. Retrieved from: http://simplemapper.org

Week One: AT Compared

Topic: Compare and contrast the definition of Adventure Therapy with at least three (different) approaches to mental health treatment.


According to Gass, Gillis, and Russell, “Adventure Therapy is the prescriptive use of adventure experiences provided by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings that kinesthetically engage clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels.” This definition has three main elements. First, the definition calls for "prescriptive use. . .provided by mental health professionals." This means that AT is utilized by professionals to conduct intentional therapy based on client needs. Second, the adventure activities are "often conducted in natural settings." This is the main unique element that sets AT apart from other approaches to mental health treatment. Finally, AT is meant to "kinesthetically engage clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels." These three elements are the basis of psychology and therapy. AT claims to engage patients thoughts, feelings, and actions through the use of active experiences. As aforementioned, the primary aspect of the AT approach that sets it apart from others, is the utilization of adventure activities as the means to asses the patient and bring about positive growth and change. 

Other approaches to mental health treatment include psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, and group therapy. Here are definitions of each:

“Psychoanalytic treatment explores how. . . unconscious factors affect current relationships and patterns of thought, emotion and behavior. Treatment traces theses patterns back to their historical origins, considers how they have changed and developed over time, and helps the individual to cope better with the realities of their current life situation” (About Psychoanalysis). 

"Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By exploring patterns of thinking that lead to self-destructive actions and the beliefs that direct these thoughts, people with mental illness can modify their patterns of thinking to improve coping" (Duckworth & Freedman).

"Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time" (Cherry). 

Overall, AT is similar to these treatment approaches do to the fact that they all have the same underlying goal, which is to help the patient grow cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally. Psychoanalysis focuses on the unconscious and the past in discovering patterns associated with these three elements. CBT also focuses on these patterns and the negative, destructive connections between the elements. The thing about AT is that it can utilize psychoanalysis, CBT, group therapy, and an array of other treatment approaches but other approaches cannot utilize AT, for then it would be AT. 

References

Cherry, K. (2013). What is Group Therapy? Retrieved from: http://psychology.about.com/od/psychotherapy/f/group-therapy.htm

Duckworth, K., & Freedman, J. L. (2012, July). Treatment and Services: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? Retrieved from: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Treatments_and_Supports&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7952

Gass, M. A., Gillis, H. L., & Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

About Psychoanalysis. (2013). http://www.apsa.org/About_Psychoanalysis.aspx#What