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 that something can help, and
- Real proof that it’s safe and actually 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.
Short-Term Improvements for Struggling Teens
Wilderness treatment programs typically produce substantial short-term gains in teens’ emotional well-being, behavior, and life skills. By the conclusion of a program (often 6–12 weeks long), both youth and parent assessments show marked positive change. Some key improvements observed include:
- Reduced Emotional & Behavioral Problems: Teens report significantly fewer emotional struggles and behavioral issues at discharge. On a standard outcome questionnaire, youth move from a “clinical” level of dysfunction at intake to a “community” (normal) level of functioning by graduation –. For example, one program saw average youth symptom scores drop from about 69 (clinically distressed) at intake to ~41 (within normal range) upon completion – a change well above the threshold for meaningful improvement. – (outcome studies)
- Improved Motivation and Life Skills: Participants demonstrate growth in motivation, self-reliance and practical life skills. Studies find significant gains in hope, self-confidence, interpersonal skills, and emotional control over the course of the wilderness experience. Teens often leave with a more positive outlook and better coping strategies for school, family, and everyday challenges. (outcome studies)
- Symptom Relief: Clinical measures show reductions in depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints. In one monitored group of at-risk adolescents, youth who started with severe clinical symptoms showed large drops in depression and big improvements in emotional/behavioral functioning by the end. These initial gains were comparable to those seen with regular therapy and indicated meaningful relief of acute symptoms. (wilderness adven…)
Parents often corroborate these short-term results. In outcome tracking by one wilderness program, parents rated their teens as having far fewer behavioral problems and mood difficulties at discharge than before enrollment. Consistently, families observe their child leaving the wilderness program with greater maturity, resilience, and healthier family relationships than when they entered. (outcome studies)
Anasazi’s Participant Outcome Study – 15 year study
(Anasazi Evaluation Report)
This report tracks outcomes at intake → discharge over the last 15 years using standardized questionnaires plus satisfaction surveys from parents/caregivers and participants. Parents overwhelmingly report that the program helps—and the measured scores show large improvements by discharge, with meaningful progress present after the program
“Does it work?” (*Important Note: It is important to recognize that each participant’s success may vary depending on their individual circumstances, challenges and environment.)
- Study Duration: 15 years (2011-2025)
- Participants: 1876 Admissions/Participants
- Ave Length of Stay: 49.5 days
- Ave Age: 16-18
Post-program parent survey
- Likelihood to recommend Anasazi: 6.0–6.1 out of 7 (≈ 86–87% of the top score)
- Text Box 2, TextboxAgreement that Anasazi helped heal/strengthen the family:
- Mothers: 5.6 / 7 (≈ 80%)
- Fathers: 5.4 / 7 (≈ 77%)
- Participant satisfaction with quality of treatment: 4.4 / 5 (≈ 88%) at discharge and post-discharge
On average, parents rate their likelihood to recommend Anasazi at about 6 out of 7, and they rate family healing/strengthening at about 5.5 out of 7—that’s consistently strong satisfaction.”
Parent-rated change
The evaluation uses standardized scales where higher scores indicate more distress/strain/dysfunction, so lower scores = improvement.
1) Emotional distress (parent/caregiver ratings)
- At intake: ~33–35 (clinical range)
- At discharge:: ~6–12 (healthy range)
2) Parent-teen relationship strain
- At intake: ~14.6–14.8 (distressed range)
- At discharge:: ~0.2–3.4 (healthy range)
Summary: parents saw distress drop dramatically by discharge, and while some “rebound” can happen after returning home, the average remained meaningfully better than where families started.
3) Behavior dysfunction (parent/caregiver ratings)
- At intake: 21–22
- At discharge:: ~4–9 (healthy range)
4) Overall functioning (parent/caregiver total score)
- At intake: ~99–102
- At discharge:: ~16–36 (healthy range)
Summary: parents saw distress drop dramatically by discharge, and while some “rebound” can happen after returning home, the average remained meaningfully better than where families started.
5) Safety snapshot
Across 17 years (2006–2022):
- 124,886 client-days
- 0 fatalities
Long-Term Wilderness / OBH Outcomes and Lasting Benefits
- Critically, research suggests that the positive changes from wilderness therapy persist well after the program ends. Follow-up studies have tracked teens for months or years post-discharge and found maintained – even enhanced – improvements:
- Maintenance of Progress: At 6 and 12 months after completing a wilderness program, graduates on average retain the gains they made in treatment. For instance, one study found youth’s functional scores were ~40 at 6 and 12 months post-treatment (virtually unchanged from discharge and firmly in the normal range). While some mild resurgence of symptoms can occur, it is typically not clinically significant, and most teens remain far improved from their pre-treatment baseline. In a program-level follow-up, clinicians noted that even 18 months later, alumni were overall still in a healthy range of functioning, indicating strong skill generalization to home life. (outcome studies)
- One- to Two-Year Outcomes: Large-scale outcome research by the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council examined hundreds of adolescents across multiple wilderness programs. They observed that initial clinical improvements were not only significant at discharge but were largely sustained one year later. In interviews conducted two years after treatment, 83% of youths reported they were “doing better” than before, with 58% saying they were doing “well” or “very well”, and over 80% rating the wilderness therapy as an effective intervention in their lives. This indicates a strong long-term impact for the majority of participants. (outcome studies)
- Lasting Symptom Reduction: A landmark study from the University of New Hampshire compared adolescents who completed an OBH wilderness program to a matched group who received traditional at-home therapy. After 14 months, parents of the wilderness therapy teens reported their children were functioning significantly better than those who had only received usual treatments. In fact, at the one-year mark the Wilderness / OBH group showed almost three times the improvement in clinical symptom ratings compared to the non-wilderness group. Importantly, these OBH teens maintained greater reductions in depression, anxiety, substance use, and other problem behaviors over the full year of follow-up. (UNH Research)
Overall, the evidence points to wilderness therapy providing not just a “quick fix,” but enduring benefits for many troubled teens. By imparting coping skills, self-efficacy, and healthier family dynamics, these programs help set youth on a more positive trajectory that continues long after they return from the wilderness.
Study: A Meta-Analysis of Adventure Therapy Outcomes and Moderators Journal: The Open Psychology Journal - (Open Psychology Journal)
A major meta-analysis of 197 studies of adventure therapy (a broader category that overlaps with many wilderness/OBH methods) found:
A major meta-analysis of 197 studies of adventure therapy (a broader category that overlaps with many wilderness/OBH methods) found:
- Short-term effect size: g = 0.47
- Other alternative treatment (comparison): 0.14
- No treatment: 0.08
- Follow-up period change: 0.03 (suggesting gains are generally maintained).
Overview: Across a large body of studies, teens often show meaningful improvement (3.4x higher compared to other alternative forms and 5.9x to no treatment), and many programs report that gains tend to hold—especially when families and aftercare supports are part of the plan.
Comparing Wilderness Therapy to Traditional Treatments
Higher Success and Completion Rates: Wilderness therapy engages teens in a novel, immersive way that often leads to better adherence. In one analysis of adolescents with substance abuse and mental health comorbidities, 94% of youth completed the outdoor treatment program, versus only 37% completion in a comparable “treatment-as-usual” setting. This high engagement means more teens actually finish treatment and reap its full benefits, whereas many drop out of standard programs. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Higher Success and Completion Rates: Wilderness therapy engages teens in a novel, immersive way that often leads to better adherence. In one analysis of adolescents with substance abuse and mental health comorbidities, 94% of youth completed the outdoor treatment program, versus only 37% completion in a comparable “treatment-as-usual” setting. This high engagement means more teens actually finish treatment and reap its full benefits, whereas many drop out of standard programs. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
One question parents often ask is how wilderness therapy outcomes stack up against more conventional treatment options (such as weekly counseling, outpatient programs, or inpatient care). Research indicates that wilderness programs can meet or exceed the effectiveness of traditional therapies, especially in achieving lasting change:
The big picture
Wilderness treatment programs typically produce substantial short-term gains in teens’ emotional well-being, behavior, and life skills. By the conclusion of a program (often 6–12 weeks long), both youth and parent assessments show marked positive change. Some key improvements observed include:
- Reduced Emotional & Behavioral Problems: Teens report significantly fewer emotional struggles and behavioral issues at discharge. On a standard outcome questionnaire, youth move from a “clinical” level of dysfunction at intake to a “community” (normal) level of functioning by graduation –. For example, one program saw average youth symptom scores drop from about 69 (clinically distressed) at intake to ~41 (within normal range) upon completion – a change well above the threshold for meaningful improvement. – (outcome studies)
- Improved Motivation and Life Skills: Participants demonstrate growth in motivation, self-reliance and practical life skills. Studies find significant gains in hope, self-confidence, interpersonal skills, and emotional control over the course of the wilderness experience. Teens often leave with a more positive outlook and better coping strategies for school, family, and everyday challenges. (outcome studies)
- Symptom Relief: Clinical measures show reductions in depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints. In one monitored group of at-risk adolescents, youth who started with severe clinical symptoms showed large drops in depression and big improvements in emotional/behavioral functioning by the end. These initial gains were comparable to those seen with regular therapy and indicated meaningful relief of acute symptoms. (wilderness adven…)
Parents often corroborate these short-term results. In outcome tracking by one wilderness program, parents rated their teens as having far fewer behavioral problems and mood difficulties at discharge than before enrollment. Consistently, families observe their child leaving the wilderness program with greater maturity, resilience, and healthier family relationships than when they entered. (outcome studies)
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.