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A Meta-analysis of Wilderness Therapy Outcomes for Private Pay Clients

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Abstract

Wilderness therapy is becoming a more widely used intervention for adolescents, but there have not been any meta-analyses focused solely on its clinical effectiveness for private pay clients. This study’s objective was to conduct outcome-based meta-analyses of private-pay wilderness therapy programs, benchmark primary features of this approach, and educate the clinical community as to its effectiveness. The authors conducted a review of all available databases, as well as manual searches. Searches resulted in a meta-analysis based on 36 studies, totaling 2399 participants receiving wilderness therapy. Our meta-analyses found medium effect sizes for all six constructs assessed: self-esteem (g = 0.49), locus of control (g = 0.55), behavioral observations (g = 0.75), personal effectiveness (g = 0.46), clinical measures (g = 0.50) and interpersonal measures (g = 0.54). Subgroup analyses included age of participants, duration of program, open or closed model, presence of a mental health practitioner, and publication year.

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Bettmann, J.E., Gillis, H.L., Speelman, E.A. et al. A Meta-analysis of Wilderness Therapy Outcomes for Private Pay Clients. J Child Fam Stud 25, 2659–2673 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0439-0

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