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Experiential learning in psychotherapy: ropes course exposures as an adjunct to inpatient treatment
Author(s) -
Wolf Markus,
Mehl Kilian
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
clinical psychology and psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0879
pISSN - 1063-3995
DOI - 10.1002/cpp.692
Subject(s) - anxiety , trait anxiety , psychological intervention , clinical psychology , locus of control , psychology , adjunct , rope , treatment and control groups , trait , physical therapy , medicine , psychiatry , psychotherapist , linguistics , philosophy , structural engineering , computer science , engineering , programming language
Abstract Exposures to a high‐ropes course are introduced as an adjunct intervention in the therapy of psychotherapy patients. A controlled study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of high‐ropes exposures as an add‐on to inpatient treatment in a naturalistic setting. In a sample of 247 patients, depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, locus of control and self‐efficacy were assessed at admission and discharge of treatment and at 24‐month follow‐up. Follow‐up data were available for 104 patients who attended the ropes courses and 53 control patients who underwent an inpatient treatment programme as usual. At the end of treatment, more high‐rope participants showed clinically significant change on trait anxiety than controls but not regarding depressive symptoms. High‐rope participants showed better follow‐up outcomes than controls in trait anxiety and self‐efficacy but not in depressive symptoms and external locus of control. Moreover, during follow‐up, in the high‐rope group, more patients showed reliable improvements and fewer patients showed reliable deteriorations in trait anxiety as compared with controls. The study gives a preliminary indication that the high‐rope interventions are a feasible and valuable add‐on to inpatient psychotherapy. The study design, sample composition and loss to follow‐up are discussed as potential limitations of the study. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: • Based on the principles of experiential learning, outdoor ropes courses are a means for the facilitation of personal growth and promotion of individual coping skills. • A ropes course intervention was evaluated as an add‐on to a psychotherapy inpatient programme. • In a diagnostically mixed inpatient sample, participation in ropes course exposures seemed to be related with better long‐term outcomes on personality variables—trait anxiety and self‐efficacy—but not regarding depressive symptoms and state anxiety. • Interventions that draw upon experience and group action might be a valuable addition to talking psychotherapy.