Journal of Experiential Education 1–16 © The Authors 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1053825915607536 jee.sagepub.com Article The Impact of Wilderness Therapy: Utilizing an Integrated Care Approach Anita Tucker 1 , Christine Lynn Norton 2 , Steven M. DeMille 3 , and Jessalyn Hobson 1 Abstract With roots in experiential education and Outward Bound, wilderness therapy (WT) is a growing field of mental health care for youth. WT uses outdoor modalities combined with therapeutic interventions to assist youth to promote clinical changes. Previous research has shown it to be effective in improving the mental health of clients; however, little research has looked at the impact of WT on physical outcomes as well. This study examined changes in the body composition and mental health outcomes of adolescents participating in one WT program. On average, youth in the sample moved to a more healthy weight and body mass index (BMI) or were able to maintain at a healthy level. Youth also experienced significant improvements in their mental health functioning. Given the adolescent obesity crisis along with adolescent female challenges with body image, these results show that WT could be a promising intervention for youth struggling with these issues. Keywords wilderness therapy, mental health, adolescents, body composition, body mass index (BMI) The prevalence of adolescent mental health problems has become a growing concern, with 17% (almost one in every five youth) having one or more mental health or sub- stance abuse disorders (O’Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009). Despite the prevalence of adolescent mental health problems, a treatment gap exists in which less than 20% of 1 University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA 2 Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA 3 RedCliff Ascent Wilderness Treatment Program, Enterprise, UT, USA Corresponding Author: Anita Tucker, Department of Social Work, University of New Hampshire, 55 College Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA. Email: anita.tucker@unh.edu 607536JEE XX X 10.1177/1053825915607536Journal of Experiential EducationTucker et al. research-article 2015 at ASSOCIATION FOR EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION on October 28, 2015 jee.sagepub.com Downloaded from