When picturing group therapy, you might think of a circle of chairs in a crowded room and deep conversations about feelings. For a student with social anxiety, this can feel like torture.At the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers students a new, effective way to engage with their feelings and their peers: adventure therapy groups.Adventure therapy, which dates back to the 1930s, is a common form of treatment to promote a client’s confidence, personal growth and feelings of self-worth as well as build trust and communication within a group system. It’s primarily associated with wilderness therapy, which teaches students basic survival skills to build self-efficacy that they can apply to their academic studies.I’ve just had this strong interest in, how do we really foster that sense of connection, not just to, like, nature, to something outside of yourselves, but also to other people that are going through similar experiences?” says Amy Ference, a mental health clinician at CAPS. “It seemed to really fit into what we already do at University of Arkansas, which is a really strong focus on our groups program and our counseling center.”What’s the need: Today’s college students report high levels of mental and emotional distress, with over three in four students saying they need help for emotional or mental health problems like feeling sad, blue, anxious or nervous and 65 percent of students saying they feel stressed often or all the time.All college students can benefit from this kind of interaction because they face challenges and stressors that put them at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety issues, Ference says. But students with social anxiety really benefit.
Leave a Reply