Adventure Therapy Archives - Inner Voyage Recovery Center

The ABCs of Adventure Therapy at Inner Voyage Recovery Center

Written by Emily Rowe, LMSW on December 12, 2023. Posted in Adventure Therapy.

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.

The Benefits of Adventure Therapy At Our Atlanta Recovery Center

Written by Emily Rowe, LMSW on May 15, 2023. Posted in Adventure Therapy.

Our Atlanta recovery center is constantly looking for ways to help individuals who seek assistance from our program learn new ways to cope with the challenges that they face in their everyday life. One of the most beneficial types of treatment that we have implemented in our facility is adventure therapy.

There are several advantages that come with adventure therapy for those who struggle with addiction. Learning about adventure therapy, what it involves, and who it can help can help to determine if it is a good option for you.

What Is Adventure Therapy at Our Atlanta Recovery Center?

Adventure therapy is a type of therapy program that uses experiential learning in order to engage people together. These programs generally combine community, nature, and daring exercises into one. Adventure therapy tends to be incredibly effective for a variety of addiction types.

One of the key benefits of adventure therapy is that it utilizes outdoor activities and adventure-based challenges in order to help inspire people to develop life skills and creative solutions for problem-solving.

How Does Our Atlanta Recovery Center Use Adventure Therapy?

Our Atlanta recovery center implements adventure therapy by allowing people to engage in various types of activities. The majority of activities involved in this treatment program are outdoor activities. We often incorporate outdoor activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, or even grasping, in order to help people convert their fears and take the risks that they need in order to achieve growth. Other types of adventure therapy that we use include:

Team Challenges: These activities provide individuals with the opportunity to work together as teams while at our Atlanta recovery center. These therapies encourage people to learn how to effectively communicate with others and develop strong problem-solving skills that they can utilize in other areas of their life.
Wilderness Survival Courses: These courses teach individuals how to be confident and self-reliant when faced with difficult situations. When it comes to helping people overcome addiction, wilderness survival courses are effective as they allow people to push past their comfort zone and learn various skills. Much like overcoming addiction, there will be times when you have to think outside of the box and come up with great solutions in order to resist the urges that you face.
Adventure Camps: These camps are designed to provide those working to overcome addiction at our Atlanta recovery center with a safe space where they are able to explore personal growth. These cams implement a variety of activities like interactive games, group discussions, and even creative projects. These are all designed to encourage participants to focus on goal setting and positive thinking.
Nature Walks: Our Atlanta recovery center implements nature walks that allow people to explore the outdoors while exercising. This type of therapy is incredibly helpful for people at our recovery center as it provides them with the opportunity to learn how to appreciate the beauty of nature and be mindful.
Bird Watching: We implement birdwatching as an activity that allows individuals at our Atlanta recovery center to connect with nature by observing a variety of different species of birds. This type of therapy is beneficial for helping those overcome addiction by gaining awareness of their surroundings while being able to foster a sense of calmness and peace.

These and other adventure therapies that we offer at our Atlanta recovery center are incredibly helpful for helping people achieve personal growth. We focus on helping others develop effective coping skills that they can use to face various situations, including difficulties that may trigger their addiction.

What Type of Addictions Does Our Atlanta Recovery Center Use Adventure Therapy For?

Adventure therapy at our Atlanta recovery center is incredibly helpful for people who struggle with a variety of types of addictions. This can include:

Opioid addiction
Prescription drug addictions
Cocaine addictions
Marijuana addiction
Fentanylladdictions
Alcohol addictions

Unfortunately, if people do not enjoy the outdoors already, adventure therapy may not be a good fit for them. People who do not manage stress, have physical limitations, or even a fear of heights may not benefit from this type of therapy.

Who Can Benefit From Our Adventure Therapy?

Adventure therapy is incredibly effective for people who are struggling with various types of addiction. At our Atlanta recovery center, we use adventure therapy to help people in all age groups. Although most of the research surrounding adventure therapy focuses on how it helps youth overcome addiction, there is also evidence that it is incredibly helpful for adults who struggle.

In general, adventure therapy can be incredibly helpful for:

Individuals who have suffered trauma
Individuals who have chronically low self-esteem
Youth who suffer from behavioral problems
Individuals of any age that suffer from alcohol or drug addiction
People who have not been able to benefit from other forms of therapy
Individuals who struggle to open up to others

Adventure therapy provides people with the opportunity to build strong relationships with others and form a sense of independence and inner strength. These qualities can be incredibly beneficial for overcoming any type of addiction.

How Adventure Therapy Helps

There are an array of benefits that come with utilizing adventure therapy at our Atlanta recovery center. These include:

Overcome challenges that they face by building resilience
Learning how to trust others and build trust between people
Helping individuals gain self-confidence
Helping others enjoy healthy activities without having to rely on substances
Providing people with a sense of purpose

Adventure therapy at our Atlanta recovery center enables individuals to confront their fears and take risks to grow. Through utilizing various types of adventure therapy, people are able to develop a strong sense of independence that can carry them through their addiction recovery.

Let Our Atlanta Recovery Center Help You

If you are struggling to overcome an addiction, reach out to our team at Inner Voyage Recovery Center today. We are available to meet with you and discuss the options that we have to help you overcome your addiction.

Contact our team now to see if our adventure therapy program can help you on your path to sobriety.