This pilot study examined male U.S. military veterans’ change in overall mental health symptoms after attending an Outward Bound for Veterans (OB4V) course. Two hundred and forty two male veterans, primarily serving in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn were assigned to either a treatment group or a waitlist control group. Data were collected before and within 1 week after OB4V course attendance. Overall mental health symptoms (outcome) and level of conformity to masculine norms (moderator) were measured using the Outcomes Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) total score and the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory. Results indicated participation in OB4V had a significant effect on veterans’ overall mental health symptoms. Conformity to traditional masculine norms did not moderate change in OQ-45 scores, suggesting veterans attain similar mental health improvement following OB4V regardless of conformity level (i.e., low, medium, or high) to masculine norms. Findings indicate that OB4V provides male veterans a therapeutic intervention to improve overall mental health symptoms. OB4V and similar therapeutic adventure approaches may provide a culture-centered approach to meet the unique needs of men and veterans.

This exploratory study investigated the use of adventure therapy (AT) as a supplementary group therapy approach to enrich the therapeutic experience for 11 middle-aged men seeking therapy in an office setting. Results from a semistructured group interview suggested participants found AT encouraged deeper therapeutic processing compared with their accounts of traditional group therapy. Participants noted the wilderness context, retreat length, and shared adventure activities as critical factors for reflection and therapeutic processing. Involvement in AT provided opportunities for gaining new perspectives, developing trust rapidly, and sharing personal issues more readily. The single-gendered nature of the group seemed to enhance a sense of camaraderie and empathy. Clinical implications are discussed within the context of AT and therapeutic interventions for men.

When veterans need effective mental health treatment, many are reluctant to engage in traditional treatment modalities because of stigma. Therapeutic adventure shows promise as a way to engage veterans and enact positive changes in functioning, but little is known about how therapeutic adventure impacts mental health symptoms among veterans. This study examined changes in mental health symptoms and related psychological processes over the course of a 6-day Outward Bound for Veterans (OB4V) program and at a 1-month follow-up. This study examined data from 77 U.S. military veterans with psychiatric diagnoses. The authors hypothesized that participants would report significant reductions in mental health symptoms over the course of the program and following its completion, as well as significant improvements in psychological processes that included initiative for psychological growth, psychological attitudes, attitudes toward help-seeking, psychological mindedness, and emotional suppression. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was performed on each of the dependent variables. Results showed that, from pre- to postprogram, participants reported significant improvement in life purpose satisfaction and self-confidence during stressful situations. Further, from preprogram to 1-month postprogram, veterans reported increased psychological mindedness, increased engagement to promote personal growth, decreased mental health symptomology, decreased emotional suppression, and an increase in positive attitude toward seeking professional psychological help. These improvements were significant during the OB4V program and even continued to improve after the program ended, showing the promise of therapeutic adventure as a modality to address veterans' mental health issues. (PsycINFO Database Record

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