Anasazi and Wilderness Programs Outcomes
What parents should know about wilderness treatment for struggling teens
When your teen is hurting (or acting in ways that scare you), it’s normal to want two things at the same time:
Real hope
something can help
Real proof
safe and works long-term.
This report is written for parents while grounding key points in the best available research.
The big picture
Wilderness treatment (often referred to as Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare / OBH) is designed to help teens who are stuck in patterns like emotional shutdown, explosive conflict, defiance, school refusal, substance use, self-defeating choices, or high-risk peers.
Across the research, wilderness/OBH outcomes most often fall into these buckets:
Overall emotional + behavioral functioning
Depression/ anxiety and other clinical symptom measures
Substance use and relapse risk
Family relationships and communication
School adjustment / engagement
Evidence of Positive Outcomes in Wilderness Therapy
Research over the past two decades has consistently shown that wilderness therapy (also known as Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare, OBH) can lead to significant improvements in adolescents’ mental health and behavior. Multiple meta-analyses studies show that participants often enter these programs with clinical-level problems comparable to those in inpatient or residential treatment, yet by the end of a wilderness program many teens are functioning in the normal range of behavioral and emotional health. Below, we’ll review the research and outcomes behind wilderness and outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH), and how these approaches compare with other treatment options.