Young drug abusers find therapy in the wilderness

by Lindsay Nash
From the Asheville Citizen-Times – April 2007
http://www.citizen-times.com

HORSE SHOE — There are no matches or lighters. The only materials available to start a fire are primitive ones: sycamore branches, string, a rock for flint and a knife to whittle a sharp stick.

To start a fire with a bow drill is no simple task — sometimes it takes days to learn, sometimes weeks. But seeing those first sparks of orange and smelling those first wafts of willowy smoke are signs of success after a long journey

It's not easy. But neither is life.

It's a common adage at Four Circles Recovery Center in Horse Shoe, a California-based Aspen Education Group wilderness therapy program that opened last August as a rehabilitation center for young substance abusers.

Using nature to nurture and heal through experiential education, Four Circles is one of a growing number of wilderness therapy programs that have experienced a sharp increase in popularity over the last decade.

There are now some 60 programs similar to Four Circles across the country, serving more than 10,000 clients a year and generating more than $60 million a year in revenue, according to research linked to the University of Idaho Wilderness Research Center.

There are at least seven similar programs in Western North Carolina, something Aspen executives attribute to the state's "long history of outdoors camping," which provides skilled campers and professionals who have the desire to help young people.

"The power of the wilderness is amazing," said Jack Kline, executive director of Four Circles, which sits on a 43-acre slice of serene land near the Pisgah National Forest in Henderson County.

"It gets people out of their comfort zone and it challenges their limited beliefs," he said.

Healing powers

According to the first large-scale study on wilderness therapy effectiveness, 90 percent of clients nationwide say they actively addressed their problems upon discharge.

The study, released in December by the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative at the University of Minnesota, also reports that 58 percent of clients nationwide said their problems were a great deal better upon discharge.

Kline, a former drug addict who has been clean for 24 years, saw the power of wilderness therapy early in his career.

As a counselor in Miami he watched an inner city teen with a tattoo of "No Fear" stamped on his chest shake in fright as he stood 40 feet in the air on a ropes course, a tool used in wilderness therapy. He had to be lowered from the course, and Kline saw immediately what the situation did for the teen.

"What he learned up there about himself was priceless," he said. "It would have taken me years to get him to that level of awareness that he just experienced in 15 minutes. I watched the fear on his face and saw him transform into a very subdued young man. That's what attracted me."

No instant gratification allowed

Clients primarily come from across the Southeast to Four Circles, Kline said, where they are housed for their stint. They can sign in and out voluntarily, and are not confined to the center.

The therapists are all master's or doctoral level clinicians, aided by wilderness field guides who take the clients into the outdoors. In the woods, a therapist can tell within seconds how a client is coping. Dirty campsites and unorganized equipment are telling signs.

"You can look at their shelter, stuff and know where they are emotionally," Kline said. "It's not something you would see in a hospital setting."

The clients do a lot of hiking, climbing, ropes course programs and survival skills, said Four Circles guide Chris Peckham.

The clients must focus on the 12 steps of recovery — like submitting to a higher power and making a moral inventory of wrongs. But they also are taught wilderness skills, such as how to set traps, how to start a fire with a bow drill, how to throw spears and how to build primitive shelters.

"These are really exercises of patience," said Peckham, 26. "It's learning how to be patient with yourself. It's something addicts really can apply to lots of things. It's difficult for people that are used to instant gratification to learn that you don't always get that in life."

Transferring skills

Greensboro resident Cortni Denny spent 74 days at Four Circles, an experience that tested and challenged her, and in the end, made her a better person.

"It was hard — the physical part," said Denny, 19, who had no prior experience in the outdoors.

She had led a life of drugs and alcohol, taking whatever she could get her hands on—a problem that "controlled my life since I was 15." She credits most of her success to a therapist at Four Circles who became a role model. But the wilderness aspect, while difficult, also added an element.

"The wilderness part irritated me," she admits. "But it made me appreciate things I took for granted. And it helped me with communication skills and patience."

Denny now holds a steady job and has improved relationships with her family, thanks to Four Circle's emphasis on family involvement.

"I've achieved a lot more in the past couple months since I've been out than the past couple of years," she said. "I have a stronger relationship with everyone around me."

Traditional vs. outdoor therapy

While outdoor therapy has proven results, it is an expensive road to recovery. The first six weeks of treatment at Four Circles is about $20,000. The average stay is about twice that long. Some insurance plans cover the costs, some don't.

Traditional therapy can be more affordable. A typical month at the substance abuse residential treatment program at Julian F. Keith Alcohol Center in Black Mountain costs about $12,600.

But, Kline said, for every dollar spent on therapy there is a 4-to-1 to 7-to-1 return, when you factor in potential costs like bail, attorney fees and medical costs.

Though expensive, the natural setting has proven to be successful, said Mark Hobbins, senior vice president for Aspen Education Group, Four Circle's parent company, which owns 35 programs in 12 states.

"The environment gives (clients) a dignified way of addressing the very serious issues of substance abuse and other emotional issues," Hobbins said. "Most of us are experiential learners — we learn better when we are doing," he said.

It can be difficult for clients to see the benefits of building a fire from crude materials as they rub sycamore sticks back and forth, waiting for friction to do its work. But the skill is about having patience and implementing a plan, said Josh Gunalda, the program manager at Four Circles.

"I know from personal experience that bow drilling is a super challenging thing," he said.

"If you trace back through this process, it's amazing the amount of patience packed into this one skill," he said. "It's such a great example of perseverance.