Every young adult is different, and we don’t need to tell you that your young adult has specific needs, preferences, and traits. For some young adults, talk therapy and a self-help book might be the right path for helping them find their next step. For others, it might be life-coaching and mentoring. And for some, it might be adventure therapy.
Adventure therapy combines the benefits of talk therapy, group work, self-help books, and mentoring with the benefits of adventure. Adventure therapy is especially potent for teens and young adults because of their developmental stage, which features the drive to separate from their family of origin, establish their own identity, and find community with friends and peers.
Creating an environment where young adults can work through their problems with a personalized treatment plan, talk therapy, group work, and go on fun and challenging adventures? That’s a recipe for success for young adults who need some support finding their footing. That’s why the program at Pure Life Adventure has so much success in helping young adults—we see their individual needs, consider their developmental stage, and then support them as they achieve their goals through adventure therapy.
Why Backpacking is Beneficial for Mental Health
It’s a well-documented fact that exercise is good for mental health. Improved sleep, more endorphins, and stress reduction are just a few reasons exercise is good for you. But you can ramp up the benefits of exercise with a few adjustments. For us, that means instead of a walk through your neighborhood, we backpack through the rainforest of Costa Rica.
If it sounds like a challenge, that’s because it is, by design. The hills and valleys of the rainforest provide excellent interval training, the pack offers resistance training in the form of added weight, and navigating difficult terrain is great for neuroplasticity. Physically, backpacking in a rainforest is one of the best (and sometimes challenging) experiences one can have.
While the physical benefits are obviously incredibly important, the mental health benefits, personal growth, and confidence-building might be the most important parts of hiking in the rainforest for teens and young adults. Mastering a new skill, trying an intimidating activity, and doing so with a group can increase confidence and mental health.
There’s an actual physical result to attempting a new skill—the attempt strengthens the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that can think through problems, be curious, and help override fear and anxiety. For teens and young adults, whose normal developmental stage orients them to friends’ approval over parental approval, attempting something new or challenging can be easier in a group of their peers. If not because they want the approval of their friends, sometimes positive peer support is significantly more effective than an adult’s support.
We know that hiking is incredible for your brain, in part because it is an outdoor activity. Not only do humans do better when they are in nature more frequently, but orienting ourselves to the environment is incredible for cognitive development. Hiking through the rainforest requires the use of spatial navigation and memory recall, all important mental skills.
Finally, hiking in the rainforest offers teens and young adults a significant opportunity to practice a skill they will need for the rest of their lives: mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present and aware of where we are and what we are doing in the moment. For most of us, this is a difficult skill to master, but for a technology-addled teen or young adult, it can be nearly impossible to practice, let alone master. But hiking in the rainforest where phones don’t work, and the task at hand is so all-consuming, mindfulness is a skill that most of our students learn quickly with the support of our staff. Many of our graduates say that this is one of the most important practices they took from their time with Pure Life Adventure.
Adventure Therapy For Young Adults: Growth And Confidence
Adventure therapy is a new way to engage teens and young adults with therapeutic ideas and skills. While some young adults may be able to utilize talk therapy to help them find their way, some teens need a different type of support, and that’s where adventure therapy comes in. Students at Pure Life Adventure get to experience so much in their time in Costa Rica, including group therapy, cultural immersion experiences, individual therapy, community service, and a wilderness first aid course. But the real distinction between other programs and adventure therapy is the activities we do when we aren’t engaging in talk therapy.
Our activities include white water rafting, ski kayaking, rappelling, surfing, and, of course, rainforest backpacking. We ensure that all of our activities are attuned to the environment of Costa Rica. We do yoga, meditate, group sessions, some meals, and other activities outside. This is because we know the benefits of being in the natural environment, including lower stress, better mood, and even measurable upticks in empathy. As some mental health experts say, “nature nurtures,” and after the changes we see in our students after being in the rainforest for even just a few hours, we have to agree.
The Life-Changing Experience Of Costa Rica’s Rainforest
Hiking anywhere will give your brain and body a wash of feel-good hormones, brain growth, and a feeling of accomplishment. But hiking in the rainforest takes all of those benefits and raises them a notch. The benefits of complex terrain, curious wildlife, and physical exertion required for a rainforest backpacking trip can’t be understated. We’ve seen monkeys, sloths, colorful birds, reptiles, and other exotic wildlife on our trips. These visitors are usually the highlight of the trip simply because they are interesting and out of the ordinary. A secondary bonus of spotting wildlife? It forces all of us to be present for a moment. Closely examining the variations of green on the back of a frog or watching a mother and baby monkey interact requires your full attention, and often we see students experiencing true presence of mind while observing wildlife.
During a rainforest backpacking trip, you’ll experience elevation changes, which can be physically challenging but great for your cardiovascular system. Additionally, the varied terrain requires more internal navigation from our students. They have to use their internal GPS rather than an app on their phone to orient themselves, and that cognitive effort has so many benefits for the brain. Hiking in the rainforest adds a new dimension to hiking, and we see the benefits of this activity in our students.
Combining Adventure With Therapy
The adventure component of adventure therapy supports many important features of young adults’ developmental stages, like independence-seeking, identity development, and social orientation to friends. Adding the benefits of an individualized treatment plan, group therapy, cultural immersion, skills training, and other activities in the program, it’s no wonder that so many of our students come out changed.
Our goal is to teach self-efficacy, which is the belief that a student has about their ability to achieve a goal. As we increase self-efficacy, we increase confidence, and that feeling of confidence and accomplishment is what helps young adults take the next steps in their lives. All of our activities, from therapy to backpacking in the rainforest, support the growth of young adults, and we can’t wait to see how Pure Life Adventure can help your teen or young adult.
Find out more about our program, or apply today to find out if we are the right fit for your young adult. We can’t wait to see your child grow into who you know they are—smart, motivated, and capable young adults.
