Elements Wilderness Program joins OBHIC

Elements Wilderness Program (Huntington, Utah) recently joined the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC) to further promote the efficacy of wilderness treatment for adolescents. Founded in 1997, OBHIC is a community of outdoor behavioral healthcare programs working to advance the field through best practices, effective treatment, risk management and facilitating outcomes research on the efficacy of wilderness programs.

OBHIC members are dedicated to not only researching programs efficacy but also considering safety and risk management. In a recent article published in the Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, Gass and Javorski showed through data collected by the 12 adventure therapy programs that comprised OBHIC in 2011, that when conducted correctly, there is less risk to participants in wilderness therapy programs than to adolescents in their normal everyday life.

As part of OBHIC membership, Elements Wilderness Program will be participating in outcomes and risk management research and helping the organization continue to raise standards industry wide.