Preliminary Results of a Study Examining the Effects of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Treatment on Levels of Depression and Substance Use Frequency

This application of mind will report preliminary findings of a longitudinal research of eight outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs that utilize wilderness therapy. novel outcome assessments have shown that OBH treatment can be effective in reducing the behavioral and emotional symptoms of adolescent clients (Russell, 2003; Russell & Phillips-Miller, 2002) Many youths who pierce OBH treatment are reasoned to be struggling with various horizontals of substance-use issues and may exhibit symptoms associated with depressive disorders that are reasoned to co-occur (Greenbaum, Prange, Friedman, & Silver, 1991) granting several studies appear in the literature upon outcomes associated with OBH programs (Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997) hardly any studies have specifically addressed the stage to which the treatment approach is effective in reducing symptoms associated with substance use and depression disorders.

This inquiry is also examining the motivation horizontals of youths who enter treatment and the quality of the working alliance between the youths in each working collection and the treatment team. It has been indicateed that youths exhibit less internal motivation to pierce substance-related treatment because they have experienced fewer of the negative ends of their drug and alcohol use (De Leon Melnick, & Kressel 1997; Melnick, De Leon Hawke, Jainchill, & Kressel 1997) Because of this, youths are oftentimes coerced into entering residential treatment through external influences (Pompi, 1994; Pompi & Resnick, 1987) Research has shown that coercion into treatment and depressed motivation to change provides a significant barrier to change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992) Because of these dynamics, this close attention also proposes assessing the stage of motivation that youths entering treatment have, and determining the stage to which motivation may have changed through every part of the course of treatment. Finally, the working alliance between youths and their compeer group, and the treatment team has been shown to be a significant predictor of issues in treatment (Blanz & Schmidt, 2000) Because this alliance is reasoned to be naturally strengthened in OBH treatment (Gass, 1993) the working alliance between the treatment team, and the youth and collection will be assessed to examine its relationship to outcome

A time series research design is propos with four specific objectives: (a) evaluate treatment results on substance use frequency using the Personal Experience Inventory (PEI) (Winters & Henley, 1989) (b) evaluate treatment consequences on levels of depression using the Depression and Anxiety Stres Scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 2002) (c) assess adolescent motivation and willingness to change using the stages of change design (URICA) (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992) and (d) assess the part of the working alliance in treatment using the collection Therapy Alliance Scale (Marziali, Munroe-Blum & McCleary, 1997) follows will be presented from initial data analysis addressing each of these objectives from data gathered at admission and discharge. Six-month follow-up assessments will be complet in the spring of 2005 Discussion will center upon the appropriateness of the data for further analysis using structural equation modeling techniques to ordeal the relationship of treatment consequences motivation to change levels, and the working alliance.

References

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De Leon G Melnick, G & Kressel D (1997) Motivation and readiness for therapeutic community treatment among cocaine and other medicine abusers. American Journal of physic and Alcohol Abuse, 23(2), 169-189

Gass, M (1993) Adventure therapy: Therapeutic applications of adventure programming. Dubuque IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Greenbaum, P E Frange, M E Friedman, R M & Silver, s E. (1991). Substance abuse prevalence and co-morbidity with other psychiatrie disorders among adolescents with inexorable emotional disturbances. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30 575-583

Hattie, J Marsh, HW Neill, JT & Richards, G E (1997) Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67(1) 43-87

Lovibond, s H., & Lovibond, P. F (2002) Manual for the Depression and Anxiety Scales. Sydney Australia: University of of recent origin South Wales.

Marziali, E., Munroe-Blum H & McCleary, L (1997) The contribution of cluster cohesion and group alliance to the issue of group psychotherapy. International Journal of collection Psychotherapy, 47(4), 475-497.

Melnick, G De Leon G Hawke, J Jainchill, N & Kressel D (1997) Motivation and readiness for therapeutic community treatment among adolescents and adult substance abusers. American Journal of remedy and Alcohol Abuse, 23(4), 485-506

Pompi, K F (1994) Therapeutic communities: Advances in research and applications. (Monograph No. 144) Washington, DC: National Institute of medicine Abuse.