OBHIC Revives Wilderness Therapy Symposium

By Gil Hallows

The Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC) will be reviving the annual Wilderness Therapy Symposium (WTS) beginning in 2012. As many of you know, Rob Meltzer made the decision to end his role with the symposium in 2010. Rob originated the event and was the driving force behind its success. He brought together a broad range of practitioners and students from the fields of Wilderness and Adventure Therapy, Clinical Psychology, Ecopsychology, Rites of Passage Guiding, and related fields. Rob garnered wide-spread support for the symposium and insured the quality, diversity and appeal of the presentations. With the ending of Rob's role, there was no Wilderness Therapy Symposium in 2011. OBHIC saw an opportunity to further its mission by adopting the WTS, with Rob's support. Rob is "thrilled" that OBHIC is taking on sponsorship of the WTS, and has been supportive to the OBHIC WTS Committee.

Sponsorship of the Wilderness Therapy Symposium is a natural fit with the mission and scope of OBHIC. OBHIC was founded in 1997 when representatives from a small number of wilderness treatment programs got together to discuss common issues. This spirit of collaboration resulted in the formal organization of OBHIC, which set out to raise the bar in the field of wilderness therapy through identifying and sharing best practices in programming and risk management. A short time later, OBHIC founded its research arm, the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative (OBHRC) with Dr. Keith Russell as Director, and began initiating and supporting research on the efficacy of wilderness therapy. The OBHRC research effort has continued and expanded over the years, and is currently hosted by the University of New Hampshire, with Dr. Michael Gass as its director (See www.obhrc.org for full compilation of OBHRC-supported research).

It is the intention of OBHIC to restore and maintain the collegiality and inclusivity that has characterized the symposium from its inception. The WTS has brought together clinicians, field instructors, wilderness guides, academicians, students, referring professionals, personnel from residential treatment programs, and other people drawn to the healing power of the wilderness in an atmosphere of mutual sharing and learning. The symposium will continue the format of interactive, experiential workshops and inspiring presenters that will appeal to a broad range of interests and foster both professional development and personal growth.

OBHIC extends an invitation to all individuals and organizations that have interests in any aspect of wilderness therapy to participate in this year's Wilderness Therapy Symposium.

If you are interested in attending the 2012 Symposium, you can follow this link: http://obhic.com/symposium.html

OBHIC is a community of leading outdoor behavioral healthcare programs working to advance the field through best practices, effective treatment, and evidence-based research.

The Wilderness Therapy Symposium brings a diverse cross-section of clinicians, field instructors, rites of passage guides, educational consultants, professors, research specialists, students and residential programs staff under one roof to share theories, insights and best practices in an open spirit.