WinGate Wilderness health experts discuss how the outdoors can change the lives of at-risk teens and adolescents.
WinGate Wilderness Therapy is a treatment center founded on the concept that nature and outdoor adventures can heal people. Many individuals know they feel better when they return from a hike in the woods, but they don’t know exactly why.
The experts at WinGate understand the many mental health benefits of being in nature. They use the power of nature combined with clinical treatment plans to help young people overcome mental health difficulties and traumas to live happier and healthier lives.
The Outdoors and Mental Health
Numerous studies show that being outside and in nature can increase mental capacity, improve focus, and boost mood. In modern times, screens often beat the outdoors in the battle for young people’s attention. However, this overstimulation can lead to anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental health issues.
Venturing outdoors can restore what young people lose through this stimulation. It also offers an opportunity for exercise and soaking up Vitamin D, which can boost mood and help fight depression.
The Actual Wilderness Experience (AWE)
WinGate Wilderness uses an Actual Wilderness Experience to treat a variety of traumas and mental health issues. The wilderness environment where therapy takes place plays a critical role in healing the young adults and teens who attend the program.
The goal is to disconnect young people from the distractions and influences that disrupt their world. It reconnects them with nature to promote natural personal healing.
The expert staff at WinGate plays a crucial role in the process as they combine outdoor experiences with personalized treatment plans. The combination of unforgettable and lesson-teaching outdoor adventures with individualized clinical therapy plans results in significant transformations.
Outdoor Adventures at WinGate Wilderness
Individuals who attend WinGate enjoy countless opportunities for unforgettable Utah adventures. They embark on remarkably rewarding backcountry adventures where they learn to create shelters in their groups; to start campfires and cook their own meals; and to solve problems as individuals and as a team. Their lessons on how to remain safe in the wilderness build working knowledge to keep themselves safe in life.
The lessons young people learn on their wilderness adventures and through nature-based therapy result in long-term change. As opposed to typical forms of therapy, wilderness therapy completely removes them from traditional settings and everyday distractions. There are no smartphones or media to distract them from the mission of healing mentally and physically.
Throughout their time at WinGate, young people are counseled and supported by wilderness field guides and therapy experts. The staff includes a team of therapists, professional field coordinators, doctors, and more.
The experts at WinGate Wilderness encourage parents to learn more about how the therapeutic adventure approach can heal children and bring families back together.
