Wilderness Program

Adventure Therapy Web
One definition of adventure therapy: Adventure (psycho)therapy is an active, experiential approach to group (and family) psychotherapy or counseling: This website, co-ordinated by Lee Gillis has access to numerous articles on Adventure Therapy and links to associated websites.

Adventure Therapy & Wilderness/Nature Therapy
The site is primarily designed to appeal to those  interested in learning about how human's learn through experience, particularly experiences of the adventurous kind.  This site is mostly used by outdoor and experiential education professors, teachers, practitioners, & students, as well as social science researchers, psychologists & social workers, and interested others.  his site has been largely designed and written by James Neill, a former Outward Bound instructor who has lectured and researched in psychology and outdoor education at the University of Canberra in Australia and the University of New Hampshire in the USA.

Brigantine Windeward Bound
"Windeward Bound” was conceived in 1965 when a young sailor in the Royal Australian Navy stood on the shores of Garden Island and watched the arrival in Sydney, from England, of an old Baltic trading vessel known as  “New Endeavour”. This approaching vision began a dream to build and operate a similar Tall Ship. This sail training ship was constructed with the assistance of volunteers and young offenders. It was launched in Hobart, Tasmania in 1996.

Bushmob Inc
Bushmob runs a Bush Adventure Therapy program as one of its core functions. Bush trips are taken on a weekly basis and can include day trips, overnight camps and longer trips up to two weeks in duration. The journey offers a period of time when groups of 8 to 30 participants go bush where skilled workers offer a safe environment that enables and encourages life skill development, self discovery, counselling and teamwork based on co-operative learning opportunities.

Impelling Principle in Challenge by Choice
Christian Itin, MSW, PhD republished a piece entitled "Challenge by Choice as Professional Enabling." In a recent issue of the Northeast Regional newsletter Charles Parry questioned the validity of "challenge by choice" as a principle of practice. In this article Itin outlines how understanding and living the basic philosophical tenants of experiential education can help in correctly applying the principle of "challenge by choice."

Kurt Hahn and Experiential Education
Kurt Hahn (1886-1974). There is more in you than you think." Kurt Hahn's calling in life was to help people around the world realize this truth about themselves. This Web site is dedicated to his philosophy and the role of his ideas in the future of experiential education.

Lady Nelson Tasmanian Sail Training Association
The Tasmanian Sail Training Association Ltd (TSTA) is entrusted with the replica sailing vessel Lady Nelson on behalf of the people of Tasmania. The Association's Constitution requires it to perform three main functions: to provide sail training and adventure opportunities for the people of Tasmania; to maintain the Lady Nelson in excellent condition, and to carry out commercial and fund-raising activities to facilitate the first two objects.

Martin Ringer Web Page
Martin is well known in Europe and Australasia for his work with facilitator training and socio-systemic management consulting. He has authored numerous articles on group facilitation (downloadable from this site) and his recent book entitled Group Action takes a psycho-dynamic approach to the study of groups in therapeutic, educational and corporate environments.

National Outdoor Leadership School NOLS
In 1965 Paul Petzoldt created NOLS. Petzoldt wanted to train leaders and help people learn to care about the wilderness. And he wanted to give people the tools to travel safely through wild places. The NOLS school is based in Wyoming, USA.

Outward Bound Australia
Outward Bound Australia was founded in 1956 and since then over 250,000 Australians aged between 12-75 have completed one of our many courses. Outward Bound Australia provides the opportunity for all Australians to build self-confidence and self-awareness, not just physical fitness. It uses the outdoors as the classroom to allow each participant to reach their potential in a controlled and safe environment.

Outward Bound New Zealand
Outward Bound is an absolutely unique school of education specialising in social and emotional learning. The focus is on personal development within a values framework and the outcomes are increased self-awareness, self-responsibility, confidence, empathy and motivation.

Peak Experience
Dr Scott Bandoroff is not likely to be found in the office doing what psychologists are known to do. It is much more likely to encounter him on a challenge course, in the wilderness, or even in the boardroom engaging clients in some type of experiential activity or wilderness pursuit as a vehicle for change. Scott has a niche area of working with families and this site has access to papers that relate to adventure therapy interventions for families.

The Outdoor Experience (Victoria Australia)
The Outdoor Experience offers a range of Outdoor Adventure Intervention programs for young people aged 15 - 25 years.  TOE is based in inner Melbourne and delivers the Bush Adventure Therapy (Core) Program for young people experiencing issues with alcohol and  substance use.

Xtreme Getaways Australia
Specialists in the design and delivery of adventure, wilderness & outdoor learning experiences.  Based in NSW, Australia and operating since 1996.

Youth Insearch
Youth Insearch Australian program that centres on boosting young people's self esteem by empowering them to take control of their lives.  The camps that Youth Insearch operate occur over a weekend. They are a place where young people can talk about their deeply felt concerns that are affecting their lives and learn ways to handle them.