Wilderness Therapy Programs-Tabitha Ward

When I was a sophomore in college, one of my best friends from high school had to go to wilderness rehabilitation program for a drug addiction. When I found out I was devastated for many reasons, but I was proud of him for accepting the offer for the rehab program from his parents. After 6 long weeks, Matt came back and told me all about his trip. His program was based in the vast desert of Arizona. He had to cook his own food that he held in his pack, set up his own tent, and travel miles a day with his crew to their specific destination. He was hungry, tired and sore almost every day. He told me it was the most pain he had ever been in, but was the best experience of his life. He could no longer be selfish because he had to be there for his crew. He was forced every day to face his issues head on. Since his experience, Matt has been clean and living a much happier, peaceful life. I am a firm believer that the wilderness has such power and majesty that everyone should do something like Matt did. Everyone gets lost and confused sometimes, but being in the wilderness, everything can be put into perspective. I have never met anyone who does not appreciate the wilderness, somewhere that does not have any factories, or houses, or traffic, somewhere just calm and serene. To me, this is true wilderness. Wilderness therapy programs are a new up and coming means of rehabilitation for substance abuse. I feel that advocating for this means something to me because of the fact that Matt went through it.