The idea of sitting in an office can be a hurdle for some when working on their mental health. But a hike through the forest or a canoe trip down a calm river can often provide the perfect metaphor to explore what they're going through emotionally.
Patrick McMillion believes that. He’s a therapist and Northern Illinois University instructor who helped write standards for the first-ever adventure therapist credential.
“I think the biggest thing is there's kind of a multifaceted way to look at like holistic mental health and typically we're always looking at the thinking and emotional side of things, and rarely talking about the physicality or implementing the physical component of it.”
Hiking is the most common adventure therapy activity, along with paddling a canoe or kayak. McMillion said the competencies he helped craft for the credential provide a basic knowledge set for therapists while still leaving room for the creativity that makes it unique.
With the younger clients he works with, McMillion said the mental exercises can be as simple as sitting by a stream and digging with a stick to make little tributaries.
“Then I can reflect on, what are the tributaries that you're trying to create in your own life? Or are there any tributaries that you haven't created yet that maybe you want to start digging?” he said. “And if that's the case, what's the stick that you need to help you start digging that tributary so that you can kind of move in another direction?”
He said adventure therapy and using nature as a mode of challenge is getting more popular with schools focusing on mental health.
McMillion said that just spending time in nature is good for mental health. It’s also, he added, a great place for the reflection therapists want to help their clients achieve.