OBHIC Extends Deadline For Wilderness Therapy Symposium Papers

Greetings!

Many of you have reached out to me requesting more time to pull together your proposals for the Wilderness Therapy Symposium in September. In the interest of making sure you all have submitted your best proposals (which will ultimately make for the most successful event), we have decided to extend the call for proposals deadline to Friday, March 16, 2012.

Many of you have also asked some questions about who OBHIC is and what their role is in wilderness therapy.

The Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC) represents numerous wilderness therapy programs who seek to collaborate and share best practices. OBHIC was founded in 1997 when representatives from a handful of wilderness treatment programs joined together to promote program standards and excellence.

Today, the organization and its member programs have been instrumental in raising the bar for wilderness treatment through their continued research on the efficacy of wilderness treatment for adolescents.

OBHIC is pleased to announce the Wilderness Therapy Symposium will be held September 21-23, 2012.
Call for Papers - Deadline: Extended to March 16, 2012

We invite you to submit proposals for The WT Symposium by following the instructions below.

The Symposium will consist of interactive presentations, speakers and outdoor kinesthetic workshops. It will bring a diverse cross-section of clinicians, field instructors, rites of passage guides, educational consultants, professors, research specialists, students and residential program staff under one roof to share theories, insights and best practices in an open spirit. We do this to improve ourselves and the therapeutic services we provide. The symposium offers us a place to explore, inform, and educate ourselves on a diverse range of topics all centering on wilderness therapy.

Please note that the three-day symposium is interactive and experiential. We strongly suggest that your proposals:

* Draw from evidence-based research or practical experience,

* Are kinesthetic,

* Allow for participation,

* Offer relevant information that can be applied to practices in wilderness therapy.

OBHIC is accepting proposals for workshops that are 1.5, 3 or 6 hours long.

1.5 hours: This presentation length is a perfect opportunity to allow participants exposure to various concepts, research, and ideas. These presentations occur indoors.

3 hours: This longer time frame is ideal for experiential and interactive presentations. Presenters will have enough time to share in-depth information and allow for extensive participation by the attendees. These presentations can occur indoors or outdoors, on the hotel grounds.

6 hours: All of the 6 hours workshops occur in outdoor settings in and/or near Boulder, Colorado. Ideas for workshops are: climbing, primitive skills, outdoor therapeutic skills, process groups, mindfulness approaches, rites and rituals, and evidence-based research which can be taught in an experiential and applicable manner.

*Please be aware that accepted workshop presentations of any length will receive one free registration. If there is more than one presenter, we ask that the presenter team decide who's registration will be free.

In order to be selected as a presenter for The Wilderness Therapy Symposium by OBHIC, please send us the following information:

A cover sheet with the name(s) of the presenter(s), address, email address, and phone number

The title of the presentation

The duration of the presentation for which you are applying (1.5, 3, or 6 hours).

A 90-word or less description of the presentation/workshop

A 35 word personal bio for each presenter (35 words or less is required)

In 300 words tell us why this presentation/workshop is of value to the wilderness therapy milieu, what the exercises and formats of the presentation will consist of, and the tools and knowledge participants will obtain.

Equipment and location specifics you may require (e.g. outdoors on the lawn, classroom, white board, LCD projector, chair set up, etc.)

You can email this information to:
info@wildernesstherapysymposium.org

Please type: "Call for Papers - Submission" in the subject line of your email.

There are a specific number of presentations which will be accepted due to space and time limitations. Please assist us with our process of selection by carefully following the instructions above. Remember to keep your proposal clear and concise.

We look forward to seeing you at the symposium in 2012.Your participation in any way shape or form is valued immensely. Please don't hesitate to contact us via e-mail if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Timothy