Expedition Therapy is an outdoor program for young adults ages 18 to 33. The staff emphasized to me their focus is customized treatment and adventure components designed to help each participant in the areas that he or she needs help in. They described how they do this by working with the student in designing weekly expeditions to challenge each participant in areas they need to work in. Therapists and staff then assess progress, and the next activity builds on the outcomes of the previous activity.

Flexibility is the hallmark of the program's philosophy and the activities reflect this. Activities take advantage of the rich variety of landscape in southern Utah and include backpacking, canyoneering, cultural exploration (this part of the country is rich in ancient ruins and pictographs), service & first aid in the wilderness, rock climbing, etc. In teaching leadership, student-led expeditions are common, and sometimes when schedules allow, an expedition will consist of the whole family.

It was explained that their goals for each participant are to help them learn essential life skills, discover who they really are, and to develop a personal guidance system for the future. These are done through the miracle of interacting with a natural environment with the guidance of experienced guides and therapists.

It was a long drive out to visit the students in their desert campsite. I understand when following dirt roads out back there are few signs, often no GPS signal, and the groups are constantly on the move. However, it seems like almost every one of my trips to visit a wilderness group over the years has given me the bonus of a lengthy drive and an extra view of a lot of beautiful and scenic countryside. Usually we find the group (but not always), and fortunately we did find the Therapeutic Expedition group well before sunset.

The three young men there were settled in for a two-day stay and glad to share their experiences, (except for the one that had just arrived and was still testing consequences by taking a pass on all campsite routines). They talked of their recent experiences, what they had learned from them and their awe with the ancient pictographs and majestic views they had recently visited.

One of the students was still on a high from building his first fire through using a bow drill. This accomplishment is very meaningful in that to succeed it requires a combination of self-discipline, concentration, patience and persistence. All these are necessary attributes to having a successful life. Even the sense of success like this floods the brains pleasure centers.

After we had all introduced ourselves and talked a while, when asked for a fire drill demonstration this same student was more than ready to demonstrate all the steps. He very clearly and systematically went through all the steps, describing why each was important, prepared himself, and started. All this by itself was very impressive. He did manage to get smoke, but not quite enough to have the embers that could be used to start a fire. And, shortly, he showed signs of getting tired and losing some of the control he needed. It wasn't through lack of trying or determination, but just normal physical limitations. He stepped back and allowed the refreshed wilderness guide to finish the job. The student then took the ember and blew on it to get a good fire going. He was impressive even at this, because there was no sign of disappointment or frustration with himself at his failure, but rather showed he had learned the concept of working as a team. Just this little demonstration showed he had learned well the basic lessons of life skills like self-management and confidence. In addition, it showed him knowing who he is and his new ability of living with his limitations.

We profusely thanked all of them for sharing with us and left them to get back to preparing for the end of the day at their campsite. To me, it was an impressive display that the program was producing what they promised.