The Wilderness Enhanced Model for Holistic Strategic Intervention.

This paper briefly describes development of an Australian wilderness program for at-risk and problem students and outlines the "wilderness enhanced" model on which it is based. In the late 1980s, the New South Wales Department of School Education developed a wilderness intervention for adolescents with a history of school behavior problems. A 6-day pilot program was deemed a success based on informal observations and content analysis of pre- and post-program evaluative discussions with participants. Subsequently, the South Coast Wilderness Program was born, and the wilderness enhanced model was developed as the theoretical basis for using a wilderness experience as a catalyst for attitude and behavior change in adolescents. The model is based on three key concepts: disequilibrium and tension resulting in a change in perception, metaphors to explore new meanings, and debriefing or processing the experience. Implementation depends on the leader's interactional style, which focuses participants on finding questions, experiencing disequilibrium and the metaphor, and processing the experience. To this end, the leader uses "nondirect intervention"--feedback that accentuates tension as participants face the inevitability of taking action. Strategic nondirect intervention aids in the management of group dynamics, empowers participants, and creates the freedom for constructive failure. Consistent and informed feedback during long-term followup further refines and extends the lessons learned in the wilderness. Various evaluations have provided quantitative and qualitative evidence of program success. (Contains 16 references.) (SV)