Goal

• The Goal of this Outdoor Therapy Training Program is to train licensed mental health professionals to work with and make appropriate referrals to adventure, wilderness and outdoor behavioral health programs. Participants will develop skills necessary to screen patients, discuss intervention options, facilitate admissions, develop treatment plans, as well as provide concurrent and follow-up individual and family therapy.  This program will provide lecture and experiential education using outdoor, wilderness and adventure education clinics and therapeutic activities.

Objectives

• To familiarize professionals with the essential history, theory and research concerning outdoor behavioral health. To recognize, define and discuss the differences among 7 types of outdoor behavioral health programs.
• To recognize, define and discuss the underlying psychological and social principles that operate in outdoor therapy programs.
• To define and discuss safety, standards of care and best practices.
• To define and discuss the practitioner’s responsibility with regard to professional ethics and confidentiality.
• To demonstrate how outdoor therapy programs work through experiential training that demonstrates the principles discussed and involve participants in prototypical outdoor activities.
   

SCHEDULE

Check-in
To be determined

Didactic Instruction
(Tuesday 8 am to 4 pm) 6.0 hours

• Introductions
• Goals & Objectives
• History, Theory & Research
• Experiential Education and Therapy
• Program Descriptions
• Psychological & Social Principles
• Lunch  (1.0 hours, served on grounds)
• Safety
• Experiential Therapy
• Therapeutic Activities
• Private Practitioner Roles
• Initiative
• Daily evaluation feedback form
• Networking - Meet the faculty and Sponsors (No host bar)

Experiential and Didactic Training Clinics
(Wednesday & Thursday 8 am – 4 pm) 6.0 hours each

Clinic 1 – Wilderness Therapy Program

Clinic 2 – Simple Ropes Course

• Meet at assigned sections daily
• Discuss feelings, concerns, objectives of the clinic
• Experiential training activity and process
• End of Day debriefing
• Daily evaluation feedback forms

Didactic Instruction
(Friday  8 am to 4 pm) 6.0 hours

• Standards of Care
• Best Practices
• Ethical Issues
• Lunch  (1.0 hours, served on grounds)
• Confidentiality
• Treatment Plans
• Referral
• Daily evaluation feedback forms
• Conference adjourns Friday

(Optional Clinics Saturday  8:00 am to 6 pm) 6 hours of CE available depending on enrollment

Optional Saturday Clinics: Rafting and rock climbing equipment provided. There is an additional $150 fee for either the White Water Adventure Rafting or the Rock Climbing Challenge Clinic. Participants may choose one. This will be offered based on enrollment.

Practice Building - (includes 1 year no charge consultation from faculty)

Professional consultation for One Year will be provided at No Charge to professionals who attend and complete the 4 day institute.

Outdoor, adventure and wilderness therapy programs are powerful methods to help adolescents children with behavioral and emotional disorders. Outdoor Behavioral Health options compete with traditional residential treatment programs and demonstrate stable positive outcomes in less time. Professionals who refer to outdoor therapy resources can help “at-risk” youth, change family dynamics and profoundly impact the life skills of individual clients.

This workshop will provide content and experiential opportunities that train participants to screen and refer to appropriate programs, co-create treatment plans, monitor treatment and integrate outdoor therapy program referral services into their practices.  Clinicians who work with youth and families can increase the size and effectiveness of their practices by understanding and working with appropriate outdoor programs.

• Refreshments served at registration; Lunches each day, beverages during breaks and dinner on Friday are included in your Tuition.
• Accommodations in the Bend area are on your own. We recommend the Ameritel Hotel. Local hotels and restaurants provide excellent rooms and meals.
• Each participant will receive a copy of Crisis Intervention with Adolescents: A Guide for Parents and Professionals and Shouting at the Sky. Participants will also receive a copy of Outdoor Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide, a manual prepared by the faculty specifically for this program. This manual will assist you in taking notes during the didactic and experiential components of the program. These reference will provide an excellent post seminar reference tool. The manual and other materials will demonstrate the quality and content of this training for continuing education purposes.
• Rafting and rock climbing equipment is provided. There is an additional $150 fee for white water rafting and rock climbing clinics. Participants may choose one.
   

Continuing Education Credits for Professionals

• No partial credits are given. Certificates of completion are given only to participants who attend the entire workshop.
• This program is open to professionals with physical handicaps. Accommodation will be designed and created on a case by case basis. 
• The content of this training is psychologically sophisticated and is aimed at introductory or advanced level of a general professional audience.
• This level of training is typically accepted by licensing boards nationally.
• Professionals should consult their official Continuing Education Guidelines and note that there is no national pre-certification for continuing education.
• Mentor Research Institute is in the process of developing a board certification for this content area. The criteria and process is under review and being defined. Participants would be eligible for certification process when approved.