| Despite extensive research on wilderness therapy and outdoor recreation use among African Americans, no attention has been given to their interface. This investigation examines how wilderness therapy is founded in Eurocentric values, and its proven efficacy is based on research conducted on White clientele. While 53% of adjudicated referrals to these types of programs are people of color, only two studies attempt to measure the efficacy for non-White clients; and as will be discussed, these two studies do not effectively describe the racial and cultural component that is brought into the wilderness by the participants. This major oversight illuminates an essential question: is wilderness therapy a viable treatment intervention for African Americans? Based on the current study's investigation of the literature, problems with the manner in which wilderness therapy is run in regard to treating African American clients are highlighted, and suggestions are made as to how to modify current programs to make them more culturally sensitive, and therefore, more effective. |
