Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-023-00933-0 approach has been used in disciplines including social work (e.g., Norton and Tucker, 2010; Tucker, 2009), physical education (e.g., Stuhr, et al., 2016; Sutherland and Legge, 2016), and outdoor adventure education (e.g., Gass, 1985; Williams and Wainwright, 2016); thus, adventure pedagogy has been conceptualized with slight variances. However, through a comprehensive review of such literature, New- man et al. (2018a, b) characterized adventure pedagogy as a participant-centered approach consisting of intentionally designed and sequenced challenging group experiences that can lead to opportunities for growth and development when intentionally processed and debriefed. Within mental and behavioral health professions, such as social work, adven- ture pedagogy has been used as a therapeutic modality to serve the diverse needs of youth populations who are rec- ognized as being socially vulnerable, such as youth of color and LGBTQ + youth (Tucker, et al., 2013, 2020; Warren, et al., 2014). In fact, a seminal study by Tucker and Norton (2013) found that, in random sample of 646 clinical social workers in the National Association of Social Workers, more than 35.1% of the sample reported using adventure pedagogy in their clinical practices. Intentional Practices of Adventure Therapy Facilitators: Shinning Light into the Black Box Pedagogy—which is grounded in constructivist learn- ing theories—is recognized as the intersection of teach- ing, learning, and knowledge acquisition and considers the learning context, type of learning, and the nature of learning objectives (Berry, 2015). As more research provides sup- port for the use of adventure-based programming, adventure pedagogy is being increasingly used to promote the healthy development of children and youth. This pedagogical  Tarkington J. Newman tarkington.newman@unh.edu 1 Department of Social Work, University of New Hampshire, 55 College Road, Durham, NH 03823, USA 2 Department of Education, University of New Hampshire, 62 College Road, Durham, NH 03823, USA 3 Department of Kinesiology, University of New Hampshire, 124 Main Street, Durham, NH 03823, USA 4 Alvarez Consulting LLC, Ypsilanti, MI, USA Abstract Adventure therapy (AT) settings are diverse and range from school and community settings to outdoor wilderness and bush settings. However, due to the complex and diverse nature of AT, the specifc practices associated with the facilita- tion of AT can be unclear and have been referred to as the black box. To shine light into at least one corner of the black box and understand the practices of AT facilitators, the current study explored the intentional facilitative practices of AT facilitators (i.e., social workers, psychologists, counselors, educators). These processes include: (1) Assess Point A (e.g., client history and current individual/group functioning), environmental conditions, and Point B (i.e., therapeutic goals); (2) Match interventions with the assessment of client and group needs; (3) Shape environmental conditions; (4) Facilitate the experience; and (5) Evaluate the process. Findings provide guidance for human service providers, such as social workers, as they seek to service the diverse needs of youth clients. Keywords Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare · Wilderness therapy · Outdoor therapies · Experiential learning · Social work practice Accepted: 26 May 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023 Intentional Practices of Adventure Therapy Facilitators: Shinning Light into the Black Box Tarkington J. Newman 1,2  · Benjamin Jefka 1,3  · Nicholas Brennan 1,3  · Levone Lee 2  · Kendra Bostick 2  · Anita R. Tucker 1  · Irmgard Stiehl Figueroa 1  · M. Antonio G. Alvarez 4 1 3