When you hear the words “gap year,” what are your first thoughts? Some might hear “gap year” and think, “Oh, an excuse to keep partying” or “What a waste of time.” In some cases, these might be accurate descriptions of a gap year, and you might shy away from a gap year for that reason.
However, many teens need a little extra time to figure out their next steps, and a gap year spent diving into their mental health and goals and building self-esteem can start an incredible adulthood.
That’s why we created our therapeutic gap year, which is meant to facilitate self-esteem and self-efficacy and help young adults find their path in a healthy, safe way. Through a therapeutic gap year that utilizes adventure, cultural immersion, physical activity, group therapy sessions, individual therapy sessions, and more, your young adult could find the launch pad they need for the rest of their lives.
The Therapeutic Gap Year Experience
A therapeutic gap year can offer structure, community, and evidence-based support for young adults who need help finding their footing in adulthood. Let’s be honest: As parents, we know that all kids develop at a different pace, and while many might be ready for college, internships, travel, trade schools, or full-time work, not all kids will be.
If your young adult has had low self-esteem, mental health struggles, issues with substance use, or any other bump in the road, they might feel even more behind or unable to take the next steps. Usually, if your young adult is struggling to find purpose in adulthood, it’s because they need a little help with a few key skills that, once mastered, will set them on a path of success. These skills can be learned in many ways, but a great way to teach many skills and build confidence is through a therapeutic gap year.
LEARN MORE: How To Choose The Right Therapeutic Gap Year Program
A therapeutic gap year offers intensive, multi-disciplinary interventions focused on teaching the skills and self-esteem needed to succeed in adulthood. Most therapeutic gap year programs will offer group, individual, and programs built to support specific skills like emotional regulation, self-efficacy building, or other interventions. When you look for a therapeutic gap year program, make sure the program is well-rounded with a more holistic approach, including community building, social skills learning, exciting activities, and other activities that indicate the program is focused on a growth mindset.
Core Benefits of a Therapeutic Gap Year
The benefit of a therapeutic gap year is its intensive nature—through daily group therapy, adventures, cultural immersion, physical activity, mindfulness and meditation sessions, service opportunities, separation from home, and individual therapy, young adults can form new beliefs and learn new skills faster and without as many roadblocks as other interventions.
This intensive experience can offer a reset or a fresh start for young adults and teens who might believe they can’t succeed or feel that no options interest them. Therapeutic gap years give young adults the space, structure, and support they need to establish their identity in a healthy way, learn skills that support a healthy life, practice making good friendships, and build self-esteem and self-efficacy.
These elements are what make the therapeutic gap year so successful—while they can be learned in weekly, one-hour sessions with a talk therapist (which is a great option for many young adults and teens), that process takes a long time, requires the young adult to fully buy-in, and can leave a little too much pressure and responsibility on a young adult who is already struggling to manage life.
What To Expect During A Therapeutic Gap Year
When choosing a therapeutic gap year program for your teen or young adult, you want to look for some key features that will indicate how effective the program might be. First, look for a program that considers the whole person—not just the mental health but the physical, emotional, and social health of a person.
A therapeutic gap year program that supports mental health will have a few key features. Evidence-based therapy interventions, including individual talk therapy and group therapy, should be foundational to the program. While these group and individual therapy sessions are obviously quite important, the “therapy” happens throughout the day- staff will help the young adults process emotions as they come up in real-time or remind the young adult of a skill they are working on during a stressful moment. This intensive therapeutic intervention provides multiple chances for teaching and practicing emotional regulation, problem-solving, and social skills.
RELATED: Our Therapeutic Gap Year Experience
The physical health of a young adult is a key part of helping young adults prepare for adulthood. A great therapeutic gap year program will consider the nutritional and exercise needs of the young adults and help them find meals and activities that set them up for a lifetime of health. Look for a program with multiple opportunities to be active, not just a workout class in the morning—fun, challenging, and engaging physical activities should be fundamental to the program. For example, activities that get your heart rate up from physical exertion and a few nerves (think white water rafting, rappelling, hiking, surfing, etc.) are perfect for this age group—allowing them to experience thrill-seeking behavior safely and exposing them to a variety of ways to keep active.
Finally, the emotional health of your young adult should be front and center in a therapeutic gap year program. Emotional health is a component of mental health, but a good program will focus specifically on the emotional well-being of the participants. This is because teens and young adults are experiencing a very specific developmental stage, which includes more nuanced, intense, and sometimes overwhelming emotions.
Suddenly, your young adult isn’t just sad, happy, or mad; they are also forlorn, annoyed, and furious (as we’re sure you know, the list goes on). As your young adult experiences these new and complicated feelings, having a program that can help them identify, accept, and benefit from their emotions sets them up for more success. A therapeutic gap year can help young adults learn how to use their emotions to benefit their lives, make goals, and find community.
Who Should Consider a Therapeutic Gap Year?
Many young adults (not just those experiencing difficulty launching into adulthood) benefit from the space, structure, and support therapeutic gap years offer. Taking the pressure off can help give young adults clarity and a therapeutic gap year offers a way to progress as a person without all the pressure of figuring out “what’s next.”
That being said, young adults and teens who have struggled with mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, low self-efficacy, executive dysfunction, emotional regulation, social skills, and more will benefit greatly from a therapeutic gap year.
The time and space to learn new skills, make friends, build self-esteem, and practice independence is incredibly valuable. A therapeutic gap year could help your young adult in the here and now, giving them tools to make good friends, set goals, and find their next steps. It also sets them up for a lifetime of healthy relationships, confidence, and grit.
Take the Next Step: Choose Pure Life for Your Therapeutic Gap Year
Pure Life Adventure has created a therapeutic gap year program designed specifically to help young adults launch more successfully into independence. There are many programs to support young adults, but few are as focused on integrated, holistic, and long-lasting treatment.
Our program focuses on the whole person and their emotional, physical, and mental well-being. By focusing on the whole, we create an environment where young adults can flourish into the best versions of themselves and then maintain that throughout their lives.
Knowing how to parent a young adult or teen struggling to find their footing in adulthood is hard, but you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Our team at Pure Life Adventure is here to help. Read more about our therapeutic gap year program or other programs to support your young adult. We can’t wait to meet your young adult or teen and help them find their path.
