H. L. (Lee) Gillis

Georgia College · Psychological Science

Background: Adventure therapy (AT) is group psychotherapy. It shares processes and outcomes with experiential group approaches that have existed for many years. The goal here is to explore effective group dynamics inherent in AT theory, research, and practice. Method: A selected review of existing research focusing on meta-analyses and publications...

Adventure therapy is the prescriptive use of adventure experiences conducted in natural settings by mental health professionals that kinesthetically engage clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels. Meta-analyses, specific research on skills developed through the experience, and theoretically reasoned factors inherent in the adventure...

Background Progress monitoring (PM) is the periodic and reliable assessment of client progress to evaluate and inform psychotherapeutic treatment. PM’s use in a variety of treatment contexts show improved treatment outcome, dropout rate reduction, moderated treatment deterioration, and more efficient treatment delivery. Objective This study report...

The development and factor analysis of the Adventure Therapy Experience Scale (ATES) is the first attempt found in the literature to empirically and quantitatively identify therapeutic factors theorized to affect change in the adventure therapy experience (Russell & Gillis, 2017). This study utilizes the ATES to explore how its inherent factors may...

Adventure therapy (AT) is defined as “the prescriptive use of adventure experiences provided by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings, that kinesthetically engage clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels”. Despite an increase in research and evaluation in recent years examining the relative effectiveness of...

Background Monitoring youth treatments requires outcome instruments sensitive to change. The Y-OQ and the Y-OQ-SR measure behavioral change during psychological treatment. Objective The focus of this study was to compare treatment progress of youth in studies using the Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ) or the Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self Report...

Wilderness therapy is becoming a more widely used intervention for adolescents, but there have not been any meta-analyses focused solely on its clinical effectiveness for private pay clients. This study’s objective was to conduct outcome-based meta-analyses of private-pay wilderness therapy programs, benchmark primary features of this approach, and...

We examine aspects of engagement (MacKenzie, 1983) as predictors of longitudinal change in Outcome Questionnaire-45.2 scores (Lambert, Kahler, Harmon, Burlingame, & Shimokawa, 2011) for 68, 18-24-year-old male residents in a 10-bed, open enrollment 90-day residential, substance use treatment program. Engagement was partitioned into within-member, b...

The aims of this exploratory pilot study were to examine how a substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program for young adult males integrated mindfulness-based experiences into the treatment process, and to assess the impact of these experiences on the development of mindfulness skills and treatment outcome. The study utilized a within-subject nat...

A longitudinal design was used to examine (a) the relationship between group member perceptions of engagement at the session (within-member), member (within-group), and group (between-groups) level and members’ feeling involved and valued, and (b) how the person–group fit and misfit at the session and member level predicts members feeling involved...

This state of knowledge article provides an overview of Adventure Therapy (AT) as it is practiced with adolescents in North America, presenting (a) current findings in AT research with adolescents, (b) critical issues in AT, (c) the need for training and professional development in AT, and (d) professionalization in AT. Implications of current find...

The evolution and history of adventure therapy, as chronicled in the second chapter of this book, well demonstrates how far this field has evolved from a “divergent therapy” into an efficacious form of therapy that engages clients on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels. Adventure Therapy is written by three professionals who have been at th...

Supervision of therapeutic practice is one of the central professional elements of mental health practitioners. Supervision provides growth for therapists in their respective professional fields, more effective therapy for clients, and some measure of ethical protection for the welfare of clients and the public at large. However, therapists who uti...

Ninety-five male juvenile sex offenders in an adventure-based behavior management program (LEGACY) were matched with male juveniles in state treatment-as-usual and other specialized programs in the same state to determine program effectiveness (as measured by rearrest rates). The LEGACY program demonstrated significant treatment effectiveness on re...

Supervision of therapeutic practice is one of the central professional elements of mental health practitioners. Supervision provides growth for therapists in their respective professional fields, more effective therapy for clients, and some measure of ethical protection for the welfare of clients and the public at large. However, therapists who uti...

Recent studies analyzing juvenile delinquents participating in wilderness therapy programs have reported little statistical effectiveness. Interpretation of these findings may be unjustified due to definitional confusion more than a clear examination of program effectiveness. Using a research methodology similar to Jones, Lowe, and Risler (2004), t...

This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of 44 studies that examined the impacts of participation in challenge (ropes) course activities. Overall, a medium standardized mean difference effect size was found (d = 0.43). Effect sizes were calculated for various study characteristics, including demographics and outcome. Higher effects were fo...

This study reports the results of a five-year follow-up survey of private-pay outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs operating in the United States and Canada. A total of 65 of 102 programs identified as meeting certain characteristics responded to the survey and identified themselves as an OBH program that utilizes a clinical treatment model...

This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of 44 studies that examined the impacts of participation in challenge (ropes) course activities. Overall, a medium standardized mean difference effect size was found (d = 0.43). Effect sizes were calculated for various study characteristics, including demo- graphics and outcome. Higher effects were...

Most organizations find it difficult to implement change, and only about 10 percent of learning from training and development experiences is actually applied in the workplace. This book advocates facilitation as a means of enhancing change and increasing productivity. Facilitation engages employees by enhancing the processes associated with their t...

This paper outlines a model for assessing and managing psychological depth in outdoor and experiential group work, and presents two case studies of the complexity of such management in real life. The model contains eight levels of emotional risk and presents four criteria for assessing the level to which a particular event or discussion may lead th...

Describes Project Adventure's Legacy program, a 12-bed, 10-month residential program for juvenile sex-offenders in Georgia. Most offenders started as victims, so the program must address their early sexual trauma. Adventure-based counseling, with its emphasis on the total mind-body experience, is especially suited for this. Sidebars present the pro...

In 1995, Project Adventure began a 12-bed, 10-month residential program called Legacy, which uses adventure-based counseling and treatment with juvenile sex offenders in Georgia. Clients must pass through a four-level system for successful completion of the program. Passing to a higher level is contingent on following the behavioral norms in the Fu...

In 1992, a review of research in adventure therapy offered a perspective that utilized work in psychotherapy as a lens to view the current state of the field. From that review, recommendations were made to gain respect within the field of traditional mental health. This update examines the 1992 recommendations and updates them based on recent (1992...

A solution-focused therapeutic approach to processing adventure experiences shifts the focus of debriefing sessions from problem to solution, helps clients recognize exceptions to their problem behavior, and sensitizes clients to seeking positive behaviors versus avoiding negative ones. Techniques include clients' rating of their own abilities on a...

The authors describe a model of psychological depth and present some general principles that will enable adventure practitioners to manage the psychological level in the groups for which they are responsible. These principles call for the leader to pay attention to their language and the language of group participants. In particular, attention shou...

Adventure practitioners asked to justify their work with adolescent populations have no one study to point to that statistically sums up major findings in the field. Whether it be a school board, treatment facility, or funding agency, one study is needed which can combine statistics from many studies into a format to show overall effectiveness of a...

outdoor adventure experiences, traditionally associated with programs like Outward Bound and Project Adventure, have evolved into specific interventions for a number of therapeutic populations. Once used primarily with dysfunctional adolescents, a series of presentations and writings have emerged that apply these techniques to marriage and family p...

This paper describes successful indoor adventure activities that are used in the Georgia correctional system for treating substance abuse with adolescents and adults. An experiential style of learning is appropriate for adolescent and adult offenders who have typically not done well in traditional settings and are usually slow- or poorly-achieving...

The purpose of this study was to examine the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) profiles of two treatment populations and present a theoretical rationale for using adventure therapy. Data for the first group were obtained from the psychological testing records of 150 randomly selected inpatients (81 males, 69 females) treated...

29 adolescents attended Project Choices, an 8-wk residential treatment program for drug-abusing adjudicated adolescents that uses the adventure-based counseling model to instill change. Counselors rated the Ss, using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. The Ss also rated themselves and were rated by peers regarding behavior change and underwent...

This article presents the results of a survey conducted with 44 adventure programs working with families. Results of the survey show that the majority of families served by family adventure programs are step families. The source of the programs' primary referrals were mental health or medical staff. Programs reported that they worked almost exclusi...

A rationale is presented for using adventure activities in group counseling. Two case examples are used to describe the adaptation of these activities to group counseling with couples and single-parent-adolescent families.

A sequence of action-oriented games and initiatives is provided in this guide for group therapy leaders who wish to employ activities to promote trust, problem solving, and cohesion among group members. Introductory material discusses the objectives of action-oriented therapy, the adaptation of traditionally outdoor activities to indoor settings, a...

High school students in grades 8-12 participated in an experimental three-weekend camping and construction project designed to measure the personal and social growth potential of a non-risk, challenging, generative-based experience. Twenty-three students were matched and randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Students...