Over the past four years, Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy program for young people ages 10-17, has partnered with the Center for Research, Assessment, and Treatment Efficacy (CReATE) and the Arkansas Institute of Developmental Science in conducting a research initiative exploring the therapeutic effectiveness of wilderness therapy. Earlier this year, the data was compiled and Trails Carolina is excited to share its findings.
This study collected clinical outcomes data from Trails students and parents between 2014 and 2019. The research initiative received reports from students about their symptoms, syndromes, and behavioral problems at four stages: their admission to Trails, graduations from Trails, 3 months after graduation, and 12 months after graduation.
At admission, students self-reported the following:
- 44% of students reported clinical symptoms of a substance use disorder
- 33% of students reported significant symptoms of depression/anxiety, suicidality, and peer conflict.
- 25% of students reported clinical elevations in symptoms of ADHD, sleep disruption and disruptive behavior disorders
One year after students graduated from Trails:
- 8% of students reported significant symptoms of substance use disorder
- 7% of students reported symptoms of depression/anxiety, 10% reported symptoms of suicidality, and 8% reported symptoms of peer conflict.
- 12% of students reported symptoms of ADHD, 7% reported symptoms of sleep disruption, and 3% reported symptoms of disruptive behaviors.
“From the study, we were able to see a significant reduction of symptoms across all diagnoses,” comments Salli Lewis, Director of the Research Division of CReATE. “Symptomatic reductions persisted, and in most cases saw continuous improvement, for a full year following treatment at Trails.”
More findings from this study will be reported in the coming months. Learn more about the research initiative and outcomes study by visiting https://trailscarolina.com/outcomes/.
About Trails Carolina
Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program based just outside of Asheville, North Carolina that offers a multi-dimensional wilderness therapy model to troubled adolescents, ages 10-17. Trails capitalizes upon the profound effects of a student’s wilderness experience, and then combines that experience with strong clinical assessments and therapy. For additional information about Trails Carolina, please call 800-975-7303.