One of the most painful experiences we can have as parents is seeing our kids’ potential and then watching them not pursue their dreams. No one knows better than you how unique, gifted, bright, and wonderful your young adult is.
Without confidence, your young adult likely isn’t living up to their potential or using their talents. That’s why adventure therapy is such an effective solution for teens and young adults struggling with perceived limitations. Perceived limitations are beliefs we hold about what we are not capable of–basically limiting ourselves with our own beliefs. These beliefs can halt the development of self-confidence.
What is Adventure Therapy
Adventure therapy is one of the most effective and exciting ways for teens and young adults to practice confidence-building skills. While our program includes group therapy, individual therapy, exercise, cultural immersion, and other features, the adventure components offer exceptional opportunities for growth.
Young adults in our program get to raft, hike, surf, swim, and more as part of their experience, all with the therapeutic goal of building confidence. Often, after a big adventure day, we find that young adults in the program seem calmer, more confident, and more open to support and guidance. Adventure therapy is a truly unique and holistic approach to helping young adults and teens find themselves.
How Adventure Therapy Can Help in Building Self-Confidence
Adventure therapy offers a truly unique therapeutic experience, and one reason is that adventures naturally create opportunities for confidence-building. Certainly, many types of therapy can help build confidence, but for many people, especially teens and young adults, skills like confidence-building work best in practice rather than in theory.
Activities like rafting, rock climbing, hiking, and swimming all require some degree of skill and courage. At first, rock climbing will feel completely overwhelming: fear, dread, anxiety, and mistrust might all surface for your young adult. They might even feel embarrassed or dislike the idea of being a beginner at a new skill. But with a little courage and skill taught by our staff, they will take their first shot at rock climbing. As they see that they are capable of rock climbing and that being a beginner isn’t so bad, they will experience confidence and pride in themselves. That feeling is addictive in the best way, and with continued exposure to challenging situations, young adults will seek the feeling of “I did it!” over and over.
Once your teen has developed some confidence with the adventures they experience at Pure Life Adventure, they will be able to transfer the skills of being a beginner, tolerating the distress of the experience through self-regulation, and then experience the empowerment that comes with achieving a goal or learning a new skill.
That’s how confidence is built—starting with a task that feels overwhelming but achievable, using tools to self-regulate when the task feels stressful, and then reflecting on a job well done once the task is complete. You likely started this practice when your teen or young adult was just a toddler- helping them learn to walk. They fell many times before they took their first step, but with your support, their effort, a lot of time, and months of preparation, they learned to walk. Now they are practicing the same skill but with bigger, more complex skills as they mature into adulthood.
Therapeutic Activities For Overcoming Perceived Limitations
When you were teaching your teen or young adult to walk, did they ever seem ashamed or embarrassed when they fell down? Probably not! That’s because they haven’t developed perceived limitations as one and two-year-olds. There comes a time in the normal development of your child to develop perceived limitations, meaning they will understand that there are things they can not do.
Sometimes, these limitations are real. For example, your child learned early on that they cannot breathe underwater or grow feathers. But some perceived limitations are things they could do but don’t believe they could do. Maybe your child didn’t believe they could learn to ride a bike, even though they are mentally and physically capable of it. Once they finally ride the bike, that perceived limitation feels silly. The same is true for any perceived limitation your teen or young adult might have. They might think they won’t get into the program they want to for school, or they might think they are too shy to try a new hobby.
Adventure therapy is an effective way to challenge those perceived limitations. When young adults first look at a raft, their first thought might be, “No way.” Through supportive staff, encouragement from peers, and a little bravery, they try that first raft trip. They find that while it was anxiety-provoking, overwhelming, and pushed their comfort zone, they ultimately did it. Whether they loved rafting or not, they got to practice confidence-building skills by challenging their limiting beliefs. The next time they have a perceived limitation, they can remember back on their rafting trip and that they survived that experience, so, in all likelihood, they will survive (and maybe even thrive!) through their next challenge.
While many of the activities we do at Pure Life Adventure are truly adventurous (think surfing, whitewater rafting, rainforest backpacking, rappelling, and more!), there are many activities that also contribute to confidence building that don’t require quite the physical exertion. We hold group therapy sessions, set up cultural homestays, provide individual therapy, and practice mindfulness skills throughout.
Grow Your Confidence With Adventure Therapy
If you are ready to help your teen or young adult build confidence, Pure Life Adventure’s program offers unique, individualized, effective adventure therapy. Every moment of the program is an opportunity to build confidence and challenge perceived limitations. Confidence building is a skill, and as a team, we are excellent at teaching that skill. Find out if we are a good fit for your teen or young adult by contacting us today or applying for the program! Your teen or young adult can flourish with the right support, and we can’t wait to help them grow.
