The ABCs of Adventure Therapy at Inner Voyage Recovery Center

Whether you bag groceries in the heart of Atlanta or you’ve just come back from a tour overseas, taking care of your health, mind, and wellness is of the utmost importance. Many of us fall to the wayside on our journeys in life, often complicating them with substances that make our lives worse. Substance abuse is a growing problem in the United States of America, but it is one that doesn’t have to continue to grow. Adventure therapy is one of the many treatment options people turn to in order to begin turning their life around.

Equipped with support from a recovery center like Inner Voyage, individuals struggling with substance abuse can find support, help, and the tools necessary to overcome their struggles. Let’s take a closer look at the Inner Voyage Recovery Center while also exploring the many different therapeutic modalities that we employ to provide support to their clients.

What Exactly Is Adventure Therapy?

In the wide world of therapeutic modalities, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that helps everyone. One type of therapy is called Adventure-based Counseling (ABC). Adventure-based Counseling is a type of group therapy that focuses on learning new things, exploring new opportunities, and engaging in activities with a larger group of people.

We’ll commonly see adventure therapy practices in large groups in nature where the combination of community, exercise, and the outdoors can blend to provide support for those in need. Adventure therapy is a form of psychotherapy that can be used as part of a larger complement of tools.

Different Approaches to Adventure Therapy

While adventure therapy sounds relatively simple, or at least vague enough to apply to anything, there are specific modalities that this practice can focus on. Let’s take a closer look at the forms of adventure therapy practiced by the team at Inner Voyage Recovery Center.

Outdoor Challenges — The best way to enjoy adventure therapy is by getting together with a group of like-minded individuals while tackling an outdoor activity. Inner Voyage looks to outdoor activities like hiking, rafting, and rock climbing to challenge personal growth while individuals confront their fears at the same time. Individuals are led to new coping strategies in the field, practicing them as they happen.

Team-based challenges — Working as part of a larger unit is an integral aspect of adventure therapy as it focuses on the importance of communication. Inner Voyage Recovery Center espouses the benefits of team-based challenges as part and parcel of authentic adventure therapy. This form of recovery invokes the importance of companionship and cooperation, giving guests tools they can use in other areas of life.

Adventure Camps — For individuals looking for a more involved form of adventure therapy, the exploration of an Adventure Camp may be right up their alley. Inner Voyage Recovery Center believes in the benefits provided by adventure camps because they encourage individuals with addiction issues to create more meaningful and deep connections, combining those moments with the natural beauty surrounding them.

Adventure camps often involve a number of fun outdoor activities for individuals to pursue, and most of them can be seen as directly beneficial to the active process of recovery. Some activities at an Adventure Camp include:

• Walks in Nature – Walking around parks or in the great outdoors can be a great way to practice mindfulness while exploring healthy strategies for coping, such as deep breathing or meditation.
• Bird Watching – There are few hobbies more relaxing and conducive to mindfulness than Bird Watching. Bird Watching is an outdoor event that can help individuals foster a sense of peace and calmness.
• Wilderness Survival Courses – Individuals in addiction recovery may enjoy the benefits provided by Wilderness Survival Courses. These courses are popular when addressing addiction as they push participants beyond their comfort zones while building them the basics of resilience in nature.

How Does Adventure Therapy Help Addiction?

From the outside looking in, adventure therapy may seem like an odd choice for individuals struggling with addiction. However, as you’ll soon find out, this isn’t the case. Addiction therapy and adventure therapy go hand in hand with one another.

Adventure therapy combines an outdoor activity with a therapeutic modality so that participants can blend them together to enjoy the benefits of both. From hiking in the woods, while practicing mindfulness to watching birds while exploring our inner thoughts, the two ideas go hand-in-hand with one another.

There are a few key benefits that adventure therapy can provide to its practitioners when they follow the team at Inner Voyage.

• Develop Confidence – Wilderness survival courses challenge participants to overcome obstacles, giving them confidence that they can.
• Problem Solving – ADvanced problem-solving and reasoning skills are developed through individual and team challenges.
• Develop New Strategies – Adventure therapy blends new modalities with old therapeutic modalities, giving participants the best chance to find what works best for them.
• Confronting Fears – Avoid hiding from your fears by confronting them directly at an Adventure Therapy course.

While adventure therapy can be a great method of treatment for some individuals, it isn’t perfect for everyone. Adventure therapy is not suggested for individuals struggling with medical or psychological conditions, as well as individuals who deal with stress, an extreme fear of heights, or any other physical limitations.

Reach Out to the Inner Voyage Recovery Center

If you are ready to take charge of your recovery, seek out assistance from the Inner Voyage Recovery Center. With a mission to break the cycle of addiction by teaching individuals ways of coping with stress and anxiety, Inner Voyage is proud to help its guests take the first step out onto the road to recovery, armed with the tools to succeed and the knowledge to thrive in a life of sobriety.

Inner Voyage Recovery Center believes that everybody belongs in a kind, compassionate, and caring environment where individuals are free from judgment. With a diverse team of professionals, Inner Voyage Recovery Center works closely with most major insurance providers, including BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Aetna, Beacon, and Humana.

If you are ready to begin your recovery journey, call 470-460-8437 to speak with a qualified representative.