Group Climate and Development in Adventure Therapy: An Exploratory Study. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Christian, David D.; Brown, Cian L.; Portrie-Bethke, Torey L.
• Is Part Of: Journal for specialists in group work. Volume 44:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 25
• Page End: 45
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Adolescence -- adventure therapy -- group climate -- group development -- time series design; Group counseling -- Periodicals; Group psychotherapy -- periodicals; 616.8915205
• DOI: 10.1080/01933922.2018.1561776
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0193-3922

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study explored the group developmental process of Adventure Therapy (AT) conducted with 9th grade students ( n = 20). Researchers measured avoidance, conflict, and cohesion and compared results from this study to the development of traditional counseling groups. Results suggested that AT groups follow a similar developmental process as traditional group counseling as evidenced by a statistically significant increase in cohesion, an increase then decrease in conflict, and a decrease in avoidance. This study is a response to a previous call for research related to AT group development. Implications for counselors, AT training programs, and future research are discussed.