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Attachment-Based Clinical Work with Children and Adolescents pp 219–233Cite as

Attachment Processes inWilderness Therapy

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Part of the book series: Essential Clinical Social Work Series ((ECSWS))

Abstract

Out-of-home treatments for adolescents present a distinct challenge for attachment-based clinical work. How can treatment enhance the attachment bonds between family members when the treatment is residential, by definition keeping the adolescent and his parent apart? Further, in wilderness therapy programs, adolescents are far from their familiar family and friends, evoking strong attachment needs and the need for new relationships within the treatment setting. How can programs understand and support adolescents’ attachment needs in the context of out-of-home care? This article presents a reconceptualization of adolescent dynamics in wilderness therapy settings, exploring how acting-out adolescent behaviors can be best understood in the context of powerful attachment dynamics.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A pseudonym

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Joanna Ellen Bettmann & Isaac Karikari

  2. Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, Durango, Colorado, USA

    Joanna Ellen Bettmann

Authors
  1. Joanna Ellen Bettmann
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  2. Isaac Karikari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Ellen Bettmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, 84112, Utah, USA

    Joanna Ellen Bettmann

  2. New York University, New York, 10014, New York, USA

    Donna Demetri Friedman

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Bettmann, J., Karikari, I. (2013). Attachment Processes inWilderness Therapy. In: Bettmann, J., Demetri Friedman, D. (eds) Attachment-Based Clinical Work with Children and Adolescents. Essential Clinical Social Work Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4848-8_10

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