Wilderness as therapy for women.

The wilderness is a place where we not only learn and grow but we also restore our mental and physical well-being. Therefore, outdoor recreation may include the search for "healing" in wild places. And, over the years, therapeutic recreation and "stress challenge adventure" programs have become agents in assisting people with restoring this well-being.

Therapeutic programs for women have been proven beneficial in the reduction of substance abuse, mental health, eating disorders, suicidal tendencies, behavior disorders, depression, violence, and/or sexual trauma (Davis-Berman, Berman, and Capone, 1994). Some women may seek therapy for one of these problems or simply because they are unhappy and do not know why. Or perhaps they are going through changes in their lives and need help in handling or managing those changes. Subsequently, they may have difficulty in regaining control over their own lives and seek therapy to help them re-channel.

So how can women benefit from wilderness experiences? How safe is the wilderness? How is the wilderness a healing place? These questions have caught the attention of several researchers who have brought these critical issues to the forefront.

As we only have begun to overcome obstacles and listen to the voices of women, a pragmatic approach for outdoor recreation professionals, leisure educators, and experiential educators will be addressed in this "Research Update."

For this article, the term wilderness refers to undisturbed, roadless areas in a natural wild condition. These areas consist of primitive lands where there is no consumption of the resource and the natural environment itself becomes an essential part of the experience. In wilderness experiences, a high degree of opportunity for isolation exists as wen as a feeling of being part of nature passively or being faced with adventure and challenge.

Nature as a Source of Strength

The restorative and therapeutic values of nature have been distinctive for hundreds of years (e.g., Native American rituals and Asian traditions). However, there continues to be a search for "hard" evidence that the wilderness can contribute to healing. The U.S. Forest Service, for instance, has been engaged in a recent initiative to better understand the spiritual benefits that are derived from our associations with nature. The paradox is their persistence in attempting to gather this "hard" evidence. "Feelings of connectedness and/or relatedness are nurtured through encounters with nature. They animate and breathe life into the world's literature and oral traditions. They are commonplace and universal. These feelings also frequently are ineffable, at least in scientific terms, which makes them hard to define" (Dustin, 1994, p. 95).

Because the wilderness engages the whole person, it undoubtedly is an environment ideally suited to strengthening our health and well-being. Our experience is usually one of profound satisfaction; the wilderness is a place where people devote more attention to both their surroundings and to their inner selves. As E.R. Wheeler has said, "For me, being in the outdoors puts life in perspective. Somehow when I'm surrounded by nature my breathing changes. I become more calm, more centered, and I become more focused. I am able to be outside, but more fully inside myself at the same time..." (personal communication, November 22,1994).

Nature as a source of strength and healing is quite powerful. The gifts we receive through communion with the outdoors include spiritual peace, positive surrender of control, feelings of connection, and a new sense of empowerment (Mitten and Dutton, 1993). The natural environment is a catalyst for exploring personal fears, facing challenges, and decreasing or eliminating self-imposed limitations. Women can't help but feel good and powerful when immersed in the beauty and mystery of nature. Bialeschki and Henderson (1993) convey the value of outdoor experiences in relationship to the world around us: "In a society where being a woman is often perceived as a weakness, successfully facing challenges encountered in outdoor settings may help women rid themselves of self and societally imposed limitations" (p. 37).

For whatever reasons women seek therapy, the passage of time needed to heal our souls and our hearts can be accentuated by the magical forces of nature. As existential as it may sound, the songs and stories of nature have a healing power that is not easily understood. Yet whatever this experience brings to the lives of women is intensely personal and may require an element of hope and faith.

Because some women may be more comfortable in a natural environment than others, the notion of wilderness as therapy for women generates numerous considerations. Safety (both physical and emotional) is one of the major factors of survival and healing in women's lives. However, being in an outdoor environment may precipitate certain feelings of discomfort and uneasiness (Mitten and Dutton, 1993).

Venturing into the wilderness has both perceived and real dangers. Dangers and risk may be a vital part of a particular outdoor activity and subsequently a source of stress and fear for participants. To feel safe, a woman must be able to determine who she can and cannot trust. If the environment is supportive and conducive to learning new skills, women may be more inclined to challenge themselves and take risks. This enables them to feel accepted for who they are and establish trusting relationships where they may feel respected with their differences acknowledged and feelings validated (Mitten, 1994).

Research shows several key principles must be maintained to make change, growth, and healing possible for women. If women choose to venture into the outdoors, they face the potential for something new. Although there are many valuable components to empowering and respecting women, the essential ingredients of a safe wilderness experience are: the power to make their own decisions and choices; opportunities must be available for women to engage in what may be perceived as difficult pursuits; avoidance of a success/failure approach; a pervasive spirit of cooperation; and a sense of a self-control that leads to the understanding and acceptance one's self and one's needs (Kiewa, 1994; Jordan, 1992; Mitten, 1992; Estrellas, in press).

Through the Eyes of Color 

In general, wilderness therapy can help clients to overcome negative views of themselves and to understand their own individuality, worth, and ability; and to tap into their inner strengths is the essence of growing and coping.

But what happens if the client and therapist are unable to relate due to ethnic differences? For instance, for a white therapist/leader who is working with a client who is black or of any other non-Euro-American descent, evaluating the meaning of feelings and behaviors may become a complicated task if they do not share cultural values or ethnic experiences. This difference does not mean that this relationship cannot or should not exist. But based on the history and existence of racism in our society, the factor of racial and cultural difference should not be ignored.

"The woman of color's self-image, her confidence (or lack of it), as well as her perceptions of the world around her have evolved out of her personal experiences" (Boyd, 1990, p. 151). Because most women of color don't typically seek the outdoors as a place to find comfort and healing, the opportunity to venture out into the wilderness is a foreign concept in what some consider an unknown world (Roberts and Drogin, 1993; Powch, 1994; K. McKinney, personal communication, November 5,1994).

In the context of interracial therapeutic dyads, white leaders must be sensitive to the context in which people of color have lived and many of whom continue to live. Because a pattern of prejudice and discriminations is pervasive in society, lack of trust may be accentuated. How does a woman of color know she can trust her white outdoor leader to be a friend and an ally? This relationship must be carefully and cautiously cultivated by the leader/therapist and client.

Emotional and physical safety are the primary concerns for women exploring the wild. But especially for women of color, historically, the woods was not a place that was associated with being "safe" (Powch, 1994, p. 23). The key to such participation is stated by Powch (1994): "Wilderness therapy, like any therapy, cannot be universally and a complex one to be made by each individual woman in collaboration with a wilderness therapist in the program which she is considering" (p. 25).

Multicultural Feminist Therapy 

Feminist therapy research continues to be deficient in its inclusiveness in the lives and realities of women of color (Brown, 1990). In her work, Brown (1990) suggested steps which ought to be taken towards a multicultural feminist therapy. Her suggestions range from developing a multi-cultural database on the varieties of female experience to eliminating the notion that gender is the primary issue in our examinations of the lives of certain groups of women. Brown (1990) also proclaims that for sexism to be chosen as the "ultimate" oppression for women of color negates the validity of their internal realities. In other words, therapists, researchers, and outdoor leaders must not assume that gender and gender role expectations will be the most important variables in all women's lives. "While gender as an organizing variable is central to a feminist analysis and understanding of the data we collect, it may not be central to the women we study in all cases" (Brown, 1990, p. 13). This conclusion, however, does not suggest that gender does not have an effect at all, but that race and [ethnic] culture may be more significant to some women in spite of gender issues.

It is reasonable for therapists and outdoor leaders to assume that many of the social tensions, fears, angers, and resentments attached to both ethnicity and gender may have an effect on the healing process. Subsequently, as times have changed, outdoor recreation professionals cannot view all the problems of women of color as a direct and simple result of "oppression" without maintaining an awareness of how they may contribute consciously or unconsciously to their own dilemma. The outdoor leader/therapist is challenged to separate realistic racial-cultural issues from intrapersonal issues.

The Creation of New Thinking

Although wilderness therapy is not a new concept and is supported by a solid body of research as applied to clinical populations and adolescent populations, the therapeutic application for women has only been widespread since the mid 1980s. Research in this area as it pertains to women has only touched the surface in terms of substantiating and documenting benefits (Cole, Erdman, and Rothblum, 1994; Roberts, 1994). As we've begun to break the silence and listen to the voices of women, wilderness as therapy for both women and girls is receiving greater attention than ever before. And many studies currently being conducted focus on survivors of abuse and sexual trauma (such as incest, rape, and battering).

Many "therapeutic" components of wilderness therapy are described in the literature. However, current research has demonstrated that there are two distinct components of wilderness therapy: the physical, mental and emotional healing effects of specific activities and the more elusive spiritual healing effects derived from a sense of connectedness with the powers of the earth and the creative life cycle found only in nature (Powch, 1994; Mitten and Dutton, 1993).

In the southwest corner of the U.S., a study is being conducted on female Latina adolescents who are sexual abuse survivors. As part of a thesis research with Prescott College, this project will integrate adventure-based counseling methods as an adjunct to clinical group therapy for girls ages 13-17. The creation of a safe environment to explore healing and recovery issues through a physical outdoor experience may provide access to personal feelings about regaining trust and control of their bodies (Estrellas, 1994).

In the midwest, a study is being conducted through the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse. This thesis research, titled "The Therapeutic Effects of an Adventure Challenge Program on the Personal Empowerment of Women of Sexual Trauma," is being conducted to measure levels of trust. Using a model developed by Janet Goodwill on the personal empowering of women in groups, trust in oneself and trust in other members of the group will be explored. This study will examine various stages of healing. The main objective is to determine how adventure programs benefit them the most depending on what stage that women are in.

A comparative study is being conducted on the West Coast looking at two different therapeutic wilderness models in the treatment of incest survivors. Women from across the country have been selected to complete personality scales and questionnaires as well as participate in an extensive interview. The two models being tested are the challenge model (feminist approach which respects and supports a woman's fight to say "no") and the stress model (which pushes to the limit to help a woman learn new ways of coping with fears). The main question being studied is, "Which outdoor trip model is most effective in the treatment of adult women incest survivors?" Other questions include:

* At which stage of recovery are women best suited to engage in therapeutic wilderness experiences?

* Should wilderness be used as an adjunct to therapy or as a primary form of therapy?

* What specific symptoms can most effectively be treated using an experiential model?

Women's voices are being heard through many studies and topics exploring wilderness therapy for women. This wilderness setting enhances coping abilities by nourishing feelings of mastery and control. Theoretically, whether venturing out to the wilderness as a source of individual strength or as part the "therapy" we experience also may occur without even knowing it; it may be simply a matter of faith. As change and rebuilding are part of nature so, too, is this part of our healing.

An effective outdoor leader will empower women to make their own decisions and encourage safe risk-taking (Jordan, 1992). The ethic of respect, however, also speaks to the fact that this setting is not for everyone. We cannot force women to participate in activities in the outdoors if they are uncomfortable.

Unquestionably, barriers continue to exist, yet we are beginning to know what has previously been unknowable, unsayable, and invisible (Cole, Erdman, & Rothblum, 1994; Hill, 1990). We merely have skimmed the surface with respect to listening to voices of women and benefits of wilderness therapy. We only have begun to articulate and define "our language, our vision, our sexuality, our spiritual practices, our communities, our ways of learning, and our concepts of work and play" (Hill, 1990, p. 54). Some women climb mountains for their geometric beauty, and for the promise of adventure they may hold. Similarly, to paddle white water rapids in a canoe or kayak may be a valuable life experience that gives women access to parts of the mind that are usually inaccesible. When women can escape to a land left wild, there is a contentment and a peaceful feeling that life will be all right. Wilderness as therapy allows the natural environment to contribute to the achievement of personal and therapeutic goals.

Nina S. Roberts, CLP, M.A., is the Project Manager for the Environmentors Project based in Washington, D.C. A woman of color, she is also Co-Director for Expanding Horizons, which provides outdoor recreation and adventure programs for women and girls.

References

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