On August 22, 2024, news broke that Evoke Therapy Programs will be closing its doors this September. The closure of wilderness therapy programs has become increasingly common in the United States, raising questions about the future of our sector and the diverse world of outdoor therapies.
 
While the reasons for Evoke's closure remain unclear, I've been following their online presence for years and have some thoughts on what might have led to this outcome. Here are a few insights I'd like to share.

1. The Individual Pathology Perspective
One possible factor in Evoke's closure could be their beliefs about the sources of distress and the nature of healing. Their approach seems to view mental health issues through an individual pathology lens, which focuses on changing the individual. However, this perspective has been losing ground for over a decade. Parents may no longer want their children to be coercively or punitively forced into change.

2. Misjudging Negative Feedback as "Bad Press"
Evoke, like other organizations, has faced negative press about their practices—something they acknowledge in their webinars. However, labelling client experiences as merely "bad press" may have prevented a swift and systematic response to legitimate concerns. Many past participants, who refer to themselves as "Survivors," have described their experiences as abusive, citing coercion, human rights violations, and punitive practices. The lack of a demonstrable response to these claims may have made wilderness therapy less attractive or even irrelevant, leading to a decline in enrolments.
 
Earlier this year, Evoke rebranded itself from a "wilderness therapy" organization to an "outdoor therapy" one. This change, which I and others have observed elsewhere, is not a solution. Merely changing a name without addressing underlying issues dilutes the work the rest of us are doing. The Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare industry should focus on substantial changes to practice rather than superficial rebranding.
 
The Rising Tide of Litigation
There is also the possibility that legal challenges have contributed to Evoke's decision to close. Survivors are increasingly pursuing litigation against programs they claim were abusive. We know that another similarly accredited wilderness therapy organisation caused the death of a 12-year-old participant as result of their standard practices, which included improvised restraints. These kinds of coercive practices are unfortunately not uncommon in some wilderness therapy programs.
 
Concerns about such practices were first raised within our field at the 4th International Adventure Therapy Conference in 2006. For years, we had opportunities to listen to Survivors and act to eliminate the coercive practices that harmed them, and that now damages our collective reputation. The belief that coercion is necessary to "save lives" is just that—a belief. In reality, the World Health Organization promotes a human rights-based approach because coercive practices are harmful. The American Bar Association has even advised its members on identifying illegal coercive practices in wilderness therapy. It seems that U.S. lawyers and Survivors are determined to bring these issues to light in courtrooms.
 
What Does This Mean for Us?
 
We should take two critical steps:

1. Separate Ourselves from Harmful Practices: We must distance ourselves publicly and definitively from the negative reputation and harmful practices of coercive wilderness therapy. While we should disassociate from the term "wilderness therapy," particularly in the USA, where it carries different connotations, reclaiming the term there is the USA’s challenge. I, along with other Friends of the Outdoor Therapy Centre, am available to help if needed. Outside the USA, we don't practice coercive wilderness therapy at the systemic level of the troubled teen industry. If you rely on USA literature on wilderness therapy, you may want to look elsewhere for evidence of good practice. Much of that literature may not apply to your work unless you take involuntary clients into remote places for around 90 days and control their every movement and communication. More on these practices can be found here.

2. Embrace Human Rights-Based Practices: The Outdoor Therapy community should adopt a human rights-based approach that can be measured and puts safety constraints around our practice. This would help reassure the public and refine our methods. Seeking, listening to, and responding to feedback is crucial. This proactive approach might help us address issues early and prevent negative feedback from escalating into complaints or bad press. In my experience, when practitioners consistently respond to client feedback and tailor the outdoor therapy experience accordingly, both the relationship and the healing process are strengthened. Adapting the process to fit the individual is more effective and enjoyable than trying to force change upon them.
​
Twenty years ago, I believed that encouraging people to rappel/abseil from a height would help them prove to themselves they could function under stress. However, after reading the complex trauma literature, I realized that pushing someone into a scary situation is coercive. I experimented with this idea and stopped forcing people into perceived risks. Instead, I focused on their lived experiences of dignity, choice, and control. Reflecting on this change, I’ve noticed that just as many people choose to rappel/abseil now, but they seem more content and confident. I have not had to "rescue" a frozen participant over the cliff edge in over ten years. The key is letting them know it is okay to say, "Thank you, Graham, I'm not abseiling today," and respecting their choice.
 
I still run the same activities as before, but the difference is that we define success by the participant's sense of dignity, not by whether they complete the activity. As Mike Brown wrote in his paper, Comfort Zone: Model or Metaphor? (Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 2009), "enormously high perceptions of risk" are not only unhelpful but potentially re-traumatising. He was referring to this advice to practitioners from the literature of the time.

Social Sciences Week 2024 is just about a month away. This is a grassroots movement for researchers and practitioners to share their work to the wider audience. We've put together a cool series of presentations. Please register for all/any that interest you as this will also help with sharing the recordings.

As with all resources developed by the Outdoor Therapy Centre, these recordings are free for all of those interested and can be shared widely. As always, share everything...