Adventure-Based Psychotherapy

The Prescott College Adventure-Based Psychotherapy program is designed for self-directed learners with some background in either mental health or outdoor/ experiential education who wish to specialize in adventure-based intervention.

This is one of very few academic programs in the United States that incorporates the experience of the wilderness in modalities designed to heal clients and facilitate their personal exploration. Graduates possess competency in both conventional psychotherapy and adventure therapy, including wilderness leadership (if desired), and find employment in a range of settings, from educational to clinical.

For professional counseling or marriage and family therapy, students must pursue the appropriate state licensure as an integral aspect of their whole study plan. Students should obtain a current copy of requirements from their respective state’s Licensure Board early in the first term of the Master of Arts Program (if not before), and plan to consult them regularly during their course of study.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this emerging area of study, most students should expect to spend a minimum of five terms (two and a half years, full time) to complete this degree concentration.

Graduates of the Adventure-Based Psychotherapy concentration will receive a one-page Concentration Endorsement, included in their official transcript. The endorsement gives a detailed summary of the training standards set forth by Prescott College and achieved by the graduate. As the graduate applies for professional positions and the field of therapeutic adventure becomes increasingly standardized and regulated, Prescott College anticipates this achievement will distinguish our graduates from other practitioners with less intentional training.

A Unique Blending of Coursework

Self-directed coursework requirements may include (depending on state licensing requirements)

• Human development
• Group dynamics
• Theories of counseling
• Counseling skills
• Multicultural foundations
• Professional ethics
• Helping relationships
• Career counseling
• Social and lifestyle issues
• Psychopharmacology
• Trauma and addiction
• Psychopathology
• Diagnosis and treatment planning
• Research and evaluation

Additional course content areas for this concentration include:

• History and theory of adventure-based psychotherapy
• Therapeutic facilitation skills
• Risk management
• In-depth study of theory
• Wilderness as a healing place

The Practicum

The professional community recognizes qualifying Adventure-Based Psychotherapy practica as delivering clinical psychotherapeutic treatment primarily (or at least partially) from a philosophical and methodological base grounded in adventure and experiential learning.

A 700-hour (minimum) applied practicum encompassing both clinical (traditional) and outdoor settings interweaves throughout the ongoing coursework. The practicum focuses on experiential development of outdoor activity skills and includes Wilderness First Responder first aid training for students who are not already certified.

The practicum is not theoretical learning; nor is it skills training. A practicum must consist of work in which the student is applying the previously learned theory in actual counseling with clients.

The total number of practicum hours required varies from state to state. However, students must have a minimum of 400 hours in a qualified Adventure-Based Psychotherapy practicum setting, and a minimum of 300 in a "traditional" counseling setting.

Students receive a fixed amount of academic credits (12 semester credits) for the entire practicum. If a state requires more than 700 hours, students are eligible for more than 12 semester credits.

Of the 400 hours required for the Adventure-Based Psychotherapy practicum, no less than 250 of these must occur in direct supervised client contact. No more than 150 may involve other clinical duties. Of the 300 hours required in the traditional counseling setting, no less than 200 of these hours must be direct supervised client contact, with no more than 100 spent on other clinical duties.

The practicum may begin in the second or third term, depending on the student’s needs, and can continue into the fourth or fifth term. Faculty encourage students to begin exploring sites and arrangements for the practicum from the earliest possible stage in their program.

It is unlikely that the entire practicum (especially the 450 direct contact hours) will be completed in one term. Students can expect to accumulate practicum hours over the span of at least two semesters and possibly a summer.

A qualified practicum will, ideally, offer an on-site supervisor who is a master or doctoral-level licensed clinician with an extensive background in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy. If no one supervisor offers such a combination, a student may arrange, with support from Core/Associate faculty, for a Master of Arts Program honorarium to pay for a second off-site supervisor.

If the student’s state/province does not accept Adventure-Based Psychotherapy practice for practicum credit, the Master of Arts Program student needs to meet the state/province hours in a "traditional" counseling setting in addition to completing the 400 hours. This may result in the need to consider a sixth term in the Master of Arts Program.

Adventure Skills Training (AST)

In order to meet graduation requirements, Adventure-Based Psychotherapy students must demonstrate minimal competencies in backcountry travel/living,

and at least one area of skill concentration – for example, rock-climbing, paddling, challenge course, skiing – as well as Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training in first aid. The student’s chosen practicum site may expect a specific level of prerequisite training in one or more areas.

Students in need of Adventure Skills Training (AST) should arrange to gain these skills during summer or winter breaks. Documentation of this learning (completed in coordination with Core Faculty) is due and semester credits are assigned in the term immediately following summer or winter break training experiences. Some shorter trainings may be interwoven into related courses during a term.

While students have the option of receiving academic credit for their Adventure Skills Training, this credit qualifies as theory in the Master of Arts Program, not toward the practicum. Some may elect to decline credit for this training if they have enough credits to meet the program requirements. To obtain credit, the student will plan with faculty guidance to incorporate scholarly literature, reflection, writing, and the training experience to be submitted in a regular study packet.

Wilderness First Responder (WFR)

Students should plan to complete an 80-hour Wilderness First Responder course through a nationally established program prior to completion of their practicum experience.

Students can receive up to three theory credits for documented completion of the WFR course. Suggested (though not endorsed) sources for specific Adventure Skills Trainings include, but are not limited to: National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS); Outward Bound; Project Adventure; American Mountain Guides Association; American Canoeing Association; Wilderness Education Association; Tom Brown Jr. Trackers School; Animas Valley Institute; School of Lost Borders; Wilderness Awareness School; Boulder Outdoor Survival School; and outdoor leadership and training seminars.