Ah, the great outdoors — to know it, is to love it. Nature soothes us, heals our hearts, mends our minds, and enriches our souls. Outdoor therapy, wilderness therapy, or SHRED therapy — no matter what you call it, spending time in nature can reduce anxiety and depression. In addition, it can decrease Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in Veterans.
U.S. service members defend our country’s democracy and freedom, including generation after generation in some military families. We must take every opportunity to help them calm the war within and to find a supportive community.
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- Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act
- What Is Wilderness Therapy?
- Wilderness Therapy Programs
- Is Wilderness Therapy Covered By Insurance?
If you or a loved one needs immediate help please call the Veterans Crisis Line/Suicide Hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255 or text 838255.
Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act
About 11 to 30 percent of Vets will have some level of PTSD, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to the VA and Center for Disease Control, rates of PTSD and suicide among veterans are a national health crisis.
The Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act took effect this year and requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a task force on the use of public lands for medical treatment and therapy to Veterans via outdoor recreation. The task force will submit recommendations to Congress advising how best to make more outdoor space available for healing U.S. Veterans.
More than 120 outdoor recreation groups, conservation organizations, and Veteran support organizations support the legislation.
“We want to shift the national narrative from the outdoors being a nice-to-have to a must-have,” Marc Berejka, REI director of community and government affairs, said in Can Hiking Help Heal Veterans with PTSD? Researchers Seek to Find Out. “Increasingly, we understand that ready access to natural places strengthens the social fabric—time outdoors also is good for the heart, mind, and soul.”
What Is Wilderness Therapy?
Wilderness therapy, outdoor therapy, recreation therapy, or adventure therapy – the names and expeditions may differ. Still, all are group missions with Veterans healing from injuries, PTSD, depression, or anxiety. Group bonding, challenging negative thinking, and pushing their physical abilities provide Veterans taking part in the programs with a community along with revitalized purpose and hope.
Wilderness Therapy Programs
A sampling of the current outdoor therapy programs across the U.S. is here. These programs and many others like them stand to benefit from the positive results expected from the task force at year-end.
1. WAVES Project
The Wounded American Veterans Experience SCUBA Project uses scuba diving to help Veterans with physical injuries and those dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. This therapy uses the properties of water — weightlessness and limited sound input — to provide a therapeutic environment.
Five women Veterans join the National Park Service for a week of removing marine debris in Biscayne National Park in July 2021 sponsored by the WAVE Project, a nonprofit providing opportunities for Veterans with service-connected disabilities and their families to experience scuba diving. Project partners include the Women Divers Hall of Fame and the National Park Foundation.
The all-women team includes staff from Biscayne NPS and the NPS Submerged Resources Center plus the U of Miami and Horizon Divers. These women get the job done!
2. Operation Surf
Operation Surf says surfing is a form of healing promoting wellness with nature-based therapy. It offers a six-month program, OS6, for Veterans who live locally and brings Veterans from across the country for a one-week, all-inclusive rehabilitative program.
Veterans do not pay to participate in Operation Surf. Instead, generous financial and in-kind contributions from sponsors and donors cover expenses.
OS6
OS6 is a six-month, locally focused program providing equipment, pro instruction, and ocean education. Veterans commit to group surfing twice a week and graduate with a wetsuit, surfboard, and newfound community.
“I feel like, for the first time in a long time, that I am the most emotionally and mentally equipped to deal with things. Because of surfing and because of the community I have now,” Ash L., Operation Surf alum.
Week-long
This program is an epic adventure that brings injured military and Veterans to coastal communities. The week is two days of travel and five days of adaptive surfing. The programs also include peer support, yoga, mindfulness, group meals, a closing award ceremony, and a healing paddle out to honor fallen heroes.
3. Operation Healing Forces
Operation Healing Forces hosts therapeutic retreats for Special Operations couples across the United States. Retreat leaders are retired members of the SOF community. Retreats are unique in activities and settings, but the goal is always: Creating bonds that cure.
Retreat travel, meals, and activities are covered by donors hoping to give back to the SOF community.
SOF Caregiver & Spouse Retreats
Spouses and caregivers who have borne the brunt of war need hope for renewal and rest too. Military SOF spouses bond and help encourage and support each other through therapeutic retreats designed by one of their own.
4. No Barriers Warriors Expeditions
NBWE Veteran programs are wilderness adventures designed to push Vets mentally and physically.
Basecamp expeditions at the No Barriers Mountain Campus in the northern Rocky Mountains are for Veterans with varying levels of injury and ability. They feature whitewater rafting on the Cache la Poudre River, rock climbing on a private crag, and a day hike in the Rocky Mountains.
Backcountry expeditions are challenging and far off the beaten path. Vets work as a team to complete the five-to-seven-day mission that is typically backpacking, river trips, or attempts to summit America’s premiere peaks.
5. Outward Bound for Veterans
Outward Bound’s Veterans program provides fully funded wilderness courses for Veterans of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Courses reenergize Veterans through adventures and challenges.
Activities vary and may offer:
- Backpacking, rock climbing, or mountaineering in the Colorado Rockies, the Sierra Nevada in California, or the North Cascades in Washington.
- Sea kayaking in the Puget Sound, Washington, or through the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin or the Outer Banks of North Carolina or the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the Gulf Coast barrier islands.
- Whitewater rafting in Utah and Oregon.
- Sailing along the coast of Maine or in the Florida Keys
6. Front Country Foundation
Front Country Foundation’s SHRED therapy program strives to enhance Veterans’ psychological and physical well-being through skiing or snowboarding. Vets receive ski/snowboard instruction in groups of two to five, individual wellness coaching with a licensed independent social worker, and group yoga classes. This program provides options for mastery of new skills through adaptive sports and alternative ways of thinking. SHRED therapy also increases connections with others and mindfulness skills.
Is Wilderness Therapy Covered By Insurance?
Typically outdoor therapy programs for Veterans are covered by donors and sponsors through the host organization.
But wouldn’t it be great if our Vets could get an RX for the healing powers of nature within a health insurance policy? It may be more effective than a pharmaceutical or talk therapy approach for some Veterans.
Don’t forget that outdoor therapy doesn’t have to be a formal event. A good ol’ DIY camping or hiking trip can refresh your well-being too. Read our sister site MyBaseGuide’s trending article 10 of the Best Military Campgrounds & RV Parks in the United States for inspiration.
You are not alone in feeling like you need help and you should never feel ashamed.
Just check out one of our newest blogs where a retired Green Beret opens up about how PTSD affected him and his unit.
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