Background
Outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) treatment offers an alternative to parents of youth who are treatment-resistant or avoidant.
Method
The current study evaluated OBH therapeutic outcomes. The sample was 190 adolescents (Mage = 15.69) presenting for treatment between 2006 and 2008. To be eligible, participants had to be between the ages of 13 and 17 years and be admitted to one of the three OBH programs for mental health intervention. Primary study hypotheses were that OBH treatment would be associated with a reduction in psychiatric symptomatology from baseline to post-treatment and second, that the OBH intervention would be associated with the maintenance of the hypothesized treatment gains.
Results and Conclusions
Findings were consistent with hypotheses, suggesting that youth demonstrated significant symptomatic reductions and maintained these improvements over a 12-month follow-up period.