This article discusses risk, anxiety, and emotional safety in adventure programs. The authors suggest that emotional safety be given the attention in the literature similarly devoted to elements of physical safety. Anxiety was discussed as a salient factor in the assessment of perceived risk. An alternate paradigm for change is suggested, based, not on moving out of comfort zones, but on reinforcing safety, security and challenge. Implications for this paradigm shift are presented.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
2.
AustrianS. (2000). Mental disorders, medications, and clinical social work. New York: Columbia University Press.
3.
BermanD.Davis-BermanJ.GillenM. (1998). Behavioral and emotional crisis management in adventure education. Journal of Experiential Education21 (2), 96–101.
4.
CooleyR. (2000). How big is the risk in wilderness treatment of adolescents?International Journal of Wilderness, 6(1), 22–27.
5.
Davis-BermanJ.BermanD. (1994). Wilderness therapy: Foundations, theory and research. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
6.
DrebingC.WillisS.GenetB. (1995). Anxiety and the Outward Bound process. In WarrenK.SakofsM.HuntJ. (Eds.), The theory of experiential education (pp. 357–364). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
7.
DumontR. (1996). The sky is falling: Understanding and coping with phobias, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. New York: W.W. Norton.
GormanJ. (1997). The essential guide to psychiatric drugs. New York: St. Martin's Press.
10.
GreenJ. (1997). Risk and misfortune: The social construction of accidents. London: UCL Press.
11.
HorwoodB. (1999). Educational adventure and schooling. In MilesJ.PriestS. (Eds.), Adventure programming (pp. 9–12). State College, PA: Venture.
12.
HuntJ. (1994). Ethical issues in experiential education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
13.
LehmannK. (1995). Connecting ethics and group leadership: A case study. In WarrenK.SakofsM.HuntJ., (Eds.), The theory of experiential education (pp. 317–329). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
14.
LucknerJ.NadlerR. (1997). Processing the experience: Strategies to enhance and generalize learning. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
15.
LuborskyL.RosenthalR.DiguerL.AndrusynaT.BermanJ.LevittJ.SeligmanD.KrauseE. (2002). The Dodo bird verdict is alive and well-mostly. Clinical Psychology, 9(1), 2–12.
16.
MaslowA. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.
17.
MilesJ.PriestS. (Eds.). (1999). Adventure programming. State College, PA: Venture.
18.
MittenD. (1999). Leadership for community building. In MilesJ.PriestS. (Eds.), Adventure programming (pp. 253–261). State College, PA: Venture.
19.
MittenD. (1994). Ethical considerations in adventure therapy: A feminist critique. In ColeE.ErdmanE.RothblumE. (Eds.), Wilderness therapy for women: The power of adventure (pp. 55–84). New York: Harrington Park Press.
20.
PontonL. (1997). The romance of risk: Why teenagers do the things they do. New York: Basic Books.
21.
PriestS.BaillieR. (1995). Justifying the risk to others: The real razor's edge. In WarrenK.SakofsM.HuntJ. (Eds.), The theory of experiential education (pp. 307–316). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
22.
WalshJ. (1996). True odds. Santa Monica, CA: Merritt.
