Therapeutic Considerations of Wilderness Experiences for Incest and Rape Survivors

The purpose of this article is to examine the relevancy of traditional wilderness programs, such as Outward Bound, to women who have been violated by experiences of childhood incest and/or adult sexual assault. Applications to African-American women, women with physical challenges, and women who are economically disenfranchised will be emphasized. The overview is from a feminist perspective, one that advocates empowerment over struggle and resisting revictimization on any level. The Rape Assistance and Awareness Program (RAAP) is a non-profit agency in Denver, Colorado dedicated to providing low-cost group psychotherapy for women who have been recently sexually assaulted as well as for women with histories of incest. About five years ago, a three-day Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) experience was incorporated into RAAP's treatment program. While the COBS weekend generally has been viewed positively by most of the clients and group facilitators, aspects of this element of the program have become increasingly problematic. Its applicability to women with physical disabilities and women with conflicting social and economic priorities is questioned. When RAAP received a special grant to provide sexual assault services specifically targeting women of color, groups for Latinas and African-American women were established and facilitated by therapists of color. These women of color, both clients and therapists, consistently challenge the relevance and practicality for them of the COBS experience. In this article, we contend that wilderness experiences, in their traditional application, do not support the feminist, woman-centered approach to life which is advocated and nurtured at RAAP, nor does it specifically honor cultural diversity or ethnic multiplicity. Recommendations for wilderness experiences attracting a broader range of the feminine experience are made.     

The Wilderness Solo

How does solo wilderness adventure facilitate female empowerment? In this article, several types of solos are defined and described. The solo is a wilderness rite of passage which is currently rising in popularity as an opportunity for personal transformation being offered by outdoor experiential education groups and personal growth institutes. A return to the wilderness during times of personal transition, for guidance and growth and to reconnect with the Spirit, has long been a part of most religions and cultures. Solos described and discussed in this article are the VisionQuest, the reflective solo, the survival skills solo, and a simple self-imposed period of time alone in the wilderness. This article also explains how the author's personal experiences have increased her feelings of self-worth. Trained as a wilderness psychospiritual guide and educator, the author tells of methods used with individuals to expand their awareness and enhance their personal growth. Described are some of the causes for women feeling disempowered within the current male-dominated cultural paradigm. How these wilderness solos serve to empower women by increasing their self-esteem, self-love, self-confidence, and self-reliance will be covered. These strategies are viable, and important, alternatives and additions to a client's personal growth outside of the confines of the therapeutic office.     

Standing in Between: The Healing Praxis of Mayan Women Intermediaries in Post-Genocide Guatemala

ABSTRACT

This article examines how Mayan intermediaries make meaning of their roles in accompanying Mayan women survivors of gross violations of human rights as they search for truth, justice, and reparation in post-genocide Guatemala. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the authors analyzed in-depth interviews with six intermediaries who worked with survivors in the context of a seven year feminist participatory and action research project. The findings reveal that healing from the legacies of armed conflict as well as from historical racialized gendered oppression are at the core of Mayan intermediaries’ work with the Mayan women survivors with whom they established an intersubjective relationship, contributing to each other’s healing. The importance of economic justice for survivors’ healing and the scant and circumscribed talk about sexual violence—the grievance central to the work with most of the survivors—emerge as important findings of this study and require future exploration.     

Breaking Through Barriers

This article presents wilderness therapy for sexual assault survivors. A form of treatment that combines counseling wiht rigorous outdoor activities, it creates situations that relate metaphorically to the original assault. Women engage in activities designed to promote team building, trust, self-esttem, confidence, intimacy and personal growth. They are then faced with physically challenging situations that evoke the feelings of helplessness were experienced during the assault, only this time they are provided with the chance to conquer them, by climbing to the mountaintop, hiking the hill, or simply knowing and asserting their physical limits. This article substantiates wilderness therapeutic programming by looking at its appropriateness for sexual assault behaviors.     

Factors of Empowerment for Women in Recovery from Substance Use

Empowerment is an interdisciplinary construct heavily grounded in the theories of community psychology. Although empowerment has a strong theoretical foundation, few context-specific quantitative measures have been designed to evaluate empowerment for specific populations. The present study explored the factor structure of a modified empowerment scale with a cross-sectional sample of 296 women in recovery from substance use who lived in recovery homes located throughout the United States. Results from an exploratory factor analysis identified three factors of psychological empowerment which were closely related to previous conceptualizations of psychological empowerment: self-perception, resource knowledge and participation. Further analyses demonstrated a hierarchical relationship among the three factors, with resource knowledge predicting participation when controlling for self-perception. Finally, a correlational analysis demonstrated the initial construct validity of each factor, as each factor of empowerment was significantly and positively related to self-esteem. Implications for the application of psychological empowerment theory and research are discussed.     

Politicizing Survivors of Incest and Sexual Abuse

Abstract

As both a feminist therapist and a survivor of incest, moving myself beyond therapeutic issues into an area of public education has been crucial to my own healing process. Receiving positive responses to my workshops and discussion groups, it became apparent that using a similar approach with clients who were survivors might be beneficial to their healing. As a member of The Counseling Center for Women, a feminist therapy collective in Israel, I suggested we sponsor a public exhibition and a series of programs of the topic of incest and abuse. The Municipality of Tel Aviv was approached to be its governmental sponsor. Entitled “Silent No More,” the program moved therapists and clients from working in the privacy of therapy to a public forum. What began as an uncomplicated educational program became an emotional process and a politicizing of individuals to help others as well as themselves. Moving from a feeling of shame to a sense of empowerment, the exhibition gave us a new sense of self-esteem and strength in our own abilities and our recovery process.     

The Family Throughout the Therapeutic Wilderness Process: Our Stories

This article explores the experiences of families that have sent struggling adolescents to therapeutic wilderness programs. We employ a modified case study approach, in which we, the participants, are also observers of the experiences of our entire families. The article begins by explaining what wilderness therapy is and offering an overview of research that has examined the effectiveness of therapeutic wilderness programs. We delineate the process of seeking, selecting and participating in wilderness therapy as well as the role of an educational consultant in facilitating this. We describe our experiences from (1) the time we realized and accepted that our children were struggling and suffering to (2) considering sending our children to wilderness therapy to (3) the stresses of the decision making process to (4) what the experience was like for us including participating in a parent workshop to (5) planning the next steps and discharge, and finally to (6) seeing and living the results over the next few years. Areas of growth and struggle are noted. Our children’s perspectives on our families’ development over time and the interactions among us are also discussed.     

African American Women Survivors of Sexual Assault:

More attention has recently focused on the psychological experiences of women survivors of sexual assault. However, little work has examined the experiences of African American women survivors, particularly with regard to the impact of race and class on survivors' experiences. We address these limitations by presenting a socio-historical analysis of African American women's rape experiences. This analysis considers the relationship between sexual and economic oppression in African American women's lives. Second, we discuss the influences of these socio-historical factors on African American women's post-assault experiences. Finally, recommendations for therapy with African American women survivors are provided.     

Therapeutic wilderness programs: Issues of professionalization in an emerging field

With the rapid increase in therapeutic wilderness programming, issues of professionalization have arisen. This article discusses the movement toward increased professionalization, with particular attention to staff qualifications for the provision of service, the distinction between therapeutic and therapy, and the ethics and consequences of therapeutic wilderness programs. It is concluded that increased credibility necessitates elevated standards for staff credentials and the provision of therapy within programs.     

Women's Empowerment Through Feminist Rituals

This article examines the function of ritual in feminist spiritual support groups and describes its therapeutic potential to empower women to make and face transitions. It describes and discusses two ceremonies-reclaiming healing powers after incest and coming out as a lesbian-as examples of individual and collective empowerment. Many women are creating and joining feminist spiritual support groups to develop their sense of their full selves and to gain strength for social change. This feminist religious revolution aims to empower and heal women, communities and the earth. Groups provide participants a safe place in which to pay attention to sources of spiritual strength and to celebrate rituals such as life cycle transitions and healing.     

Group therapy for refugees and torture survivors: treatment model innovations

The paper discusses varieties of group therapies with refugees and torture survivors and the logic behind enhancing traditional group therapies to fit the unique experiences of refugees and torture survivors. It discusses some lessons learned from practice and from empirical research and some recommended adaptations. Finally, it discusses the Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors' therapy group model for torture survivors and describes two of its variants: The Bashal group for African and Somali women and the Bhutanese multi-family therapy group. Group therapies, in this model, extend to community healing. One of the essential and innovative features of the model is that it focuses not only on treating individual psychopathology but also extends to community healing by promoting the development of social clubs and organizations that promote the values and culture of the graduates of the therapy group and the continuation of social support. New graduates from the group join the club and become part of the social advocacy process and of group and community support and healing. This model adds an ecological dimension to the traditional group therapy.     

Her Body Speaks: The Experience of Dance Therapy for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the experiences of dance therapy for 5 women who had been sexually abused as children. Using in‐depth, largely unstructured interviews, the women reflect on their dance therapy experiences and on their perceptions of the role of these experiences in their psychological healing. Analysis of these data revealed 6 common themes related to the women's sense of spontaneity, permission to play, struggle, freedom, intimate connection, and bodily reconnection. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the therapeutic nature of dance therapy and how this therapeutic modality facilitates change and healing in clients' lives.     

The empowering image of the divine mother: A South African Hindu woman worshipping the goddess

The worship of the Mother Goddess by Hindu women in KwaZulu‐Natal is very popular, as an ongoing daily devotion, as well as at the Goddess's various annual festivals, especially the Draupadi firewalking festival. A crucial question is how far this veneration of a powerful female deity brings empowerment, both to a woman's sense of her own worth and as recognition in the community. Pat Pillay, of Pietermaritzburg, is an example of a woman with little education or social and economic status, whose devotion to the Goddess has brought her a considerable sense of personal empowerment and social recognition, as well as offering healing to numbers of women in her community. It has also motivated her to challenge an all‐male temple committee over their decision not to allow women full participation in the firewalking ceremony.1     

Supernatural Support Groups: Who Are the UFO Abductees and Ritual‐Abuse Survivors?

In the 1980s two different groups emerged that exhibited a strikingly similar combination of the quasi-religious and psychotherapeutic—UFO abductees and ritual-abuse survivors. Both movements focused on healing members from victimization they had experienced at the hands of beings of often supernatural power. Further, both movements attempt to use techniques developed in psychotherapeutic circles, such as hypnosis, art therapy, and role playing, to recover "repressed" memories at the hands of these abusers. This article presents the results of surveys of 55 UFO abductees and 51 ritual-abuse survivors. Both UFO abductees and ritual-abuse survivors are compared to the general population in terms of their gender, age, race, marital status, education, and occupation. It is determined that the demographics of these two fledgling movements closely mirror those of other NRMs.     

Empowerment and Powerlessness: A Closer Look at the Relationship Between Feminism, Body Image and Eating Disturbance

Objectification Theory (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997) states that women’s bodies are viewed as objects to be evaluated and this societal objectification may lead to self-objectification when women view their own bodies as objects. The current study theorized that empowerment is an important factor in reducing self-objectification. Although empowerment is a central tenet of feminist theory, this study is the first to examine the relationship between empowerment, feminism, and body image and eating disturbance. Participants were 276 women from the southeastern USA. Results demonstrated that empowerment was more predictive of body image and eating disturbance than was feminism. Development of a validated empowerment scale specific to body image and eating disturbance may be useful for future research, prevention, and treatment efforts.     

Clinical application of medical resonance therapy music in high-risk pregnancies

Music is an ancient method for healing. In the year 550 B.C., Pythagoras from Greece developed a concept for the use of music in medicine, esteeming music higher than many other medical treatments. The Medical Resonance Therapy Music (MRT-Music) of the German classical composer and musicologist Peter Huebner is built on this concept of Pythagorean music medicine. Its therapeutic effect may be best explained by the natural phenomenon of resonance between the harmony laws of the microcosm of music and the biological laws of the body. Results received after application of MRT-Music indicate multiple positive effects on the organism of pregnant women both with a healthy pregnancy as with a pathologic one, reducing the rate of premature births very effectively. Furthermore, MRT-Music came out to be an effective method in the complex therapy of late gestoses and a nearly irreplaceable method for preoperative preparation of pregnant woman for caesarean section. It demonstrated a powerful anti-stress effect and allowd to reduce the amount of administered pain-killers to pregnant women by the factor 1.5 to 2.0 thus reducing the negative pharmacological load to the foetus. It furthermore reduced labour time and shortened hospital stay. It helped to create optimal conditions for the course of pregnancy and heightened pain sensitivity threshold by means of improving the functional, hormonal, and psycho-emotional conditions of pregnant and lying-in women. Thus, the labour process became more natural, the delivery non-traumatic, and motherhood more happy and safe.     

Descending from the Summit: Aftercare Planning for Adolescents in Wilderness Therapy

Despite substantial gains adolescents and families can make in the intensely therapeutic and structured environment of wilderness therapy, regression is still a significant risk at the time of discharge. Accordingly, intentional and comprehensive aftercare planning is crucial to support adolescents and families internalize the changes begun in wilderness therapy. Wilderness therapy is a powerful and focused intervention, but it is not the solution. This article describes why most adolescents leaving wilderness therapy programs transition to longer-term, residential therapeutic schools and programs upon discharge. Although intentional separation of parents and children might appear counterintuitive, these settings often provide the least-restrictive environment. Their therapeutic benefit is explained using Bowen theory and the trans-theoretical model of change. Considerations for a successful aftercare plan are identified, including the importance of the family therapeutic process in supporting adolescent clinical growth, and when going home upon discharge is recommended. Lastly, suggestions are offered for treatment providers to support families making difficult aftercare decisions.     

Recovering Empowerment: De-personalizing and Re-politicizing Adolescent Female Sexuality

In a 2010 issue of Sex Roles and in a recent jointly authored work, Lamb and Peterson (2011) introduced and grappled with some of the most complex debates surrounding adolescent female sexuality. In response to the questions they pose regarding the constitution of young women’s sexual empowerment, this commentary revisits the fundamental principles of empowerment theory and practice. Empowerment is popularly equated with individualized concepts of self-efficacy and agency. However, collective efforts to develop critical consciousness and to address systemic bias and inequality were originally regarded as essential components of empowerment. I recall these broader, politicized aspects of empowerment as a way of advocating for: (1) a collective approach to supporting young women’s sexual well-being through intergenerational alliances and safe spaces; and (2) a more thorough analysis of how contextual factors, including non-sexual ones, shape young women’s sexual choices and lives.     

How Substance Abuse Recovery Skills, Readiness to Change and Symptom Reduction Impact Change Processes in Wilderness Therapy Participants

Previous research has demonstrated that wilderness therapy is effective, yet very few studies have attempted to discern quantitative factors responsible for change that occur during wilderness therapy. This study aimed to tease apart specific factors that impact client progress and outcome. A sample of 189 adolescent clients in a wilderness therapy program completed the Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self-Report, the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA), and the Adolescent Relapse Coping Questionnaire (ARCQ) at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up intervals. Analysis of the complete data sets of 41 adolescents indicated that client Y-OQ scores improved significantly at post and follow-up assessments. URICA scores were not significantly related to such changes, while the ARCQ subscale of abstinence-focused coping strategies accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in Y-OQ change. These results indicate that clients in wilderness therapy do not necessarily need to want to change in order to do so. Furthermore, helping adolescents in wilderness therapy settings gain abstinence-focused coping strategies may be the most effective tool to improve treatment outcomes.