Paying it Forward: Wilderness Therapy Teaches the Value of Service

By Meghan Vivo

For individuals struggling with substance abuse or addiction, getting clean and sober is the start of a lifelong process of maintaining sobriety and avoiding relapse. The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous firmly believed that “to keep it you have to give it away.” By carrying the message to others and sharing their struggles, strength, and hope, thousands of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts have reinforced their sobriety while paying it forward to others in need.

The 12 Step Philosophy

Inherent in the 12 Step model is the concept of service. When individuals reach Steps 8 and 9, they are asked to become willing to make amends to all persons they had harmed and make direct amends whenever possible. As recovering addicts and alcoholics approach Step 12, they are asked to take what they have learned and share their experience with others.

The 12 Step principles have been integrated into a variety of programs for individuals who misuse or abuse drugs or alcohol, including wilderness therapy programs. At Passages To Recovery, a wilderness-based addiction and substance abuse treatment program for young adultsages 18 and older, the 12 Steps are an important part of daily life.

Students at Passages To Recovery begin their days with a prayer or meditation practice and a reading from the AA Big Book, participate in 12 Step meetings in the field, and end their days by sharing their resentments, amends, and acknowledgements for the day. Many of the staff members are in recovery themselves and are working the 12 Steps in their own lives.

Dan Hastings, a field instructor at Passages To Recovery, believes that realizing we’re not the center of the universe is incredibly therapeutic for substance abusers and addicts. “When I look out over the valley, I can’t help but notice that I’m a very small part of a very big whole,” he says. “I’m not more significant than the trees – we’re all getting rained on at the same time. The whole wilderness experience is deeply humbling.”

According to Dennis Thompson, LSAC, a pioneer in wilderness therapy since 1984 and a therapist at Passages To Recovery, addiction is a disease characterized by narcissism and egotism. In order to move away from addictive patterns, individuals must step outside of themselves and think about the needs of others.

“In the process of recovery, and even the process of life, we can’t just reach a certain point and maintain the status quo,” says Thompson. “We have to continue to turn over new leaves and grow stronger. And we can do that by giving back, helping others, and sharing the gifts we’ve been given.”

Mentoring Others

The importance of service to others is emphasized throughout the wilderness therapy experience, but at Passages To Recovery, some of the most important lessons are learned in the MAPS House, a cabin-like home where students spend the first week and last month of the program transitioning into and out of the wilderness.

“The MAPS House is a place where students can re-adjust to life with a roof over their heads and take what they’ve learned and use it to mentor others,” says Laurie Winkler, a counselor at the MAPS House. “New students who are full of anxiety and resentment realize that they’re not alone – they see that others have been transformed by their wilderness experience and that the challenge may be worth it in the end. And students who are preparing to leave have the opportunity to see how far they’ve come.”

During the first phase at the MAPS House, students learn about making fire with a bow drill, take practice hikes to acclimate to the elevation in southern Utah, and get acquainted with the llamas that will accompany them in the field. They also meet with their therapist, begin working the 12 Steps, and attend AA meetings in the community. One of the most intense experiences during the first week is when students write their life story, which they can share when they unite with their group in the field.

During the last phase of a student’s Passages To Recovery experience, he comes out of the field and shares his story with new students who are preparing to head out to the field. He also has the opportunity to write his new life story, looking at a future that is profoundly changed from the life he’d imagined during his first week at the program. Students who are concluding their wilderness experience also participate in a workshop with their parents, attend a graduation ceremony, work on a relapse prevention action plan, and set goals and plans for aftercare.

“I love seeing the transition that happens between weeks one and seven,” says Winkler. “Students who start off angry and defiant come back calm and at peace. I can’t think of a single graduation ceremony where I haven’t been amazed by the changes the wilderness has provided.”

Dedicated to a Life of Service

At Passages To Recovery, wilderness therapy students participate in a series of rites of passage, including a “solo” experience, sweat lodge, and three-day vision quest. During these rituals and ceremonies, students spend supervised time alone in the wilderness to reflect on their lives thus far and adopt a vision for their future.

“Our hope is that the vision the students create for themselves involves passing on their gifts to others,” says Bryan Thomas, CPCI, a wilderness therapist at Passages To Recovery. “When one individual passes it on to another, and that person on to another, we’ve created a chain of opportunity for people to use their lives for good.”

Thousands of students of wilderness therapy are transformed by their wilderness experiences each year. Over the years, the staff at Passages To Recovery has seen a number of students not only achieve sobriety, improve their relationships, and gain a new outlook on life, but also turn their gratitude outward.

With the lessons learned in the wilderness, many young men and women move on to start meaningful careers, return to serve as field guides in wilderness programs, come back to speak to other students in wilderness therapy, or return home with a renewed passion for contributing to their families and communities. One graduate of Passages To Recovery became inspired to start a program in Costa Rica that combines wilderness therapy and ecological awareness. Numerous others have returned to work as staff at Passages To Recovery.

Whatever path their journey takes, the students’ wilderness experience gives them direction in their lives, with countless individuals choosing to dedicate their lives to paying forward the gifts they have been given. “I know when wilderness therapy has changed a person – and that’s when they decide to pass it on,” says Thomas. “Knowing what the wilderness did for them, they decide to use their knowledge and experiences for the benefit of others. That’s when the wilderness experience comes full circle.”