John Cohen Gives Insight Into The Program

It has been said that experience can help define you. Think back to your own life and how the significant experiences have shaped your growth. One of the core experiences that shaped me was studying abroad in Europe for a semester in college. I met new people, learned a different language, and experienced culture that I could not get in the US. Sound familiar? Six months after I returned, I started an 18 year career with the state of Ohio. To this day, it remains as one of the biggest turning points in my life.

Pure Life offers an opportunity that cannot be taught- it has to be experienced.

Students that have completed the program are feeling such positive growth, some of them to the point of wanting to come back and work for Pure Life. The graduating students are an inspiration for newer students still trying to find their way. Arrival and departure ceremonies have been created by students to symbolize meaningful transitions into the program, and for those preparing to move on. The most recent graduation ceremony demonstrated the culture that has emerged at Pure Life. Words like family, togetherness, teamwork, and community are often heard in the lush forest of the Pure Life base.

Therapeutically, students are being challenged to absorb every experience possible while attending Pure Life Aspiro. Group therapy is a regular occurrence on Sunday nights and students sometimes co-lead the group with me. One student who had been attending Pure Life for almost 90 days assisted me by co-leading an exercise called "Truth or Envelope." This exercise involves either answering a therapeutically challenging question or picking an envelope which may have an activity to perform (i.e. Write a core challenge on your forehead in black marker for one day and talk about it three times. How does it feel having your internal core issue on the outside where everyone can see it? OR...For at least three minutes you must role-play your parents calling the Pure Life admissions department. What would they have said? What were their concerns? Pick a staff to role-play the admissions person.)

Individual therapy is based on each student's specific needs. Because Pure Life Aspiro is a smaller program, the talk therapy can be tailored more effectively for that particular individual. Participants most commonly present with challenges associated with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, adoption, executive/ social/ coping skill deficits, low motivation, and failure to launch. Students are encouraged to play an active role in helping, encouraging, and teaching others. The group milieu, when challenged with adventure therapy, talk therapy and cultural immersion experiences, embodies a unique process of accountability. The results are increased levels of identity development along with enhanced coping, social, and executive function skills that empower students to thrive as they transition into adulthood with clear intention.

Pure Life is now accepting young adult applications for 60-90 day summer experiences space is very limited.

Pure Life Aspiro, Costa Rica's premier Outdoor Adventure Therapy Program for young adults ages 18-25 that struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, and other deficits surrounding executive functioning, social skills, and identity development.