What is Adventure Therapy?
Adventure therapy is a type of experiential therapy that uses challenging adventure activities to aid the therapeutic healing process. Adventure therapy helps promote healthy identity development, self-efficacy, grit, and a growth mindset.
Adventure therapy activities at ThreePeaks Ascent are facilitated in an intentionally therapeutic manner. Students are doing more than just rock climbing or skiing. They learn to listen, keep themselves safe, learn emotional regulation skills, and develop grit as they push themselves to overcome challenging tasks. The challenges students face through ThreePeaks Ascent’s adventure programming are designed to forge an identity, build resiliency, and improve self-efficacy.
Some of the Insurance Providers We Work With Regularly
ThreePeaks Ascent works with most private insurance companies on an out-of-network basis. We talk to your insurance provider and advocate for you to maximize your benefits at every level of care.
Call our admissions team for a free verification of benefits.
Teen Mental Health Struggles We Help With
The best way to describe our students is they're good kids who are in crisis and making bad decisions. ThreePeaks Ascent is especially helpful to teens who may struggle with a variety of mental, emotional, and behavioral concerns, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- Family Issues
- Behavioral Disorders
- ADHD
- Attachment Issues
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Adoption Issues
- Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Compulsive Disorder
- Emotional Disorders
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- School Refusal
- Substance Use Disorders
Open to Adventure and Free From Distractions
Therapeutic Benefits of Adventure
Each student comes to ThreePeaks Ascent with their own story and challenges. While treatment plans are unique to each student, adventure is a part of all of them. When we include adventure as part of a nature-based treatment plan, we see several benefits:
- A decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Increased self-efficacy
- Improved executive functioning
- Improved interpersonal skills
- Identity development
- Improved grit
- Trauma resilience
- Learning to self-advocate for needs
- Accurate clinical assessments
While each student comes with their own story, the adventure therapy model is versatile enough to meet each student at their level.
ThreePeaks Ascent students go through a process of learning, facing challenges, failing, getting back up, and eventually succeeding. This process is then combined with an advanced clinical approach. The combination has proved to be highly effective at addressing a variety of mental and behavioral health issues.
To ensure safety, our field guides are trained to the standards set by the leading professional organization related to each activity. Additionally, all of our policies are overseen by the Association of Experiential Education (AEE), which ensures that ThreePeaks Ascent meets the highest standards for teaching adventure activities safely and effectively.
How Individual Adventure Activities Help the Healing Process
ThreePeaks Ascent is unique because it offers a variety of high-adventure activities both on campus and at nearby locations. Please note that not all adventure therapy activities will be available to each student due to a variety of factors weather, season, etc. All the adventure activities are facilitated by experienced field guides. This section will give an overview of some potential ThreePeaks Ascent adventure activities your teen may be involved in:
- Rock Climbing – Climbing puts students into a place where they need to confront their fears, physical challenges, lack of confidence, and many other obstacles to success. They face a seemingly insurmountable wall, and through thorough planning, coaching, effort, and practice, they reach new heights. This is a powerful metaphor for them to generalize to the rest of their life.
- Skiing – Skiing challenges students to think less and be in the moment. Students learn about “flow theory” when they enter a mental state where they react to their changing world without time for anxiety or fear. This natural high is both a healthy coping mechanism and a counter to anxious thoughts.
- Canyoneering – Success in canyoneering is dependent upon teamwork. Team-building and creative problem-solving are critical skills taught to students while canyoneering. Taking the first step in treatment is always the hardest, and stepping into a rappel is an effective way to learn to control one’s fear and trust in oneself.
- Mountain Biking – Mountain biking challenges students to assess risk accurately and pushes them to react to challenges as they approach. Students may find that they do not have the time to think about what the next obstacle in the trail is, and instead, trust their instincts and training. Mountain biking builds trust in themselves and allows them to learn or practice being in the moment.
- Backpacking/Hiking/Navigation – Backpacking is a fundamental outdoor activity at ThreePeaks Ascent. It teaches grit and can be used as a platform to build a group culture. ThreePeaks Ascent students can improve their interpersonal and social skills as they experience what it is like to be a part of a group that works together to complete a common goal like reaching the top of a 10,000 ft peak.
- Challenge Course – ThreePeaks Ascent’s on-site challenge course is a low ropes course that strengthens group cohesion and teaches social-pragmatic skills. Student groups work together through a series of challenging tasks. All tasks require effective communication, leadership, listening, and cooperation to overcome. Through failure, coaching, and perseverance, students learn what it takes to be a team player.
You Are Not Alone
ThreePeaks Ascent is there for you and your family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Families agree to a 30-day minimum stay. The average student stay is 60 days. But some students will stay longer, depending on how quickly they respond to therapy