An Example of How the Challenge Course is Used Therapeutically

Last year, a house parent in one of our boys’ homes was struggling to understand why the boys were not getting along with each other and why they were not responding to his leadership. The house parent was familiar with how adventure programs are able to help identify and overcome challenges within groups, so he requested help from the Boys Ranch Adventure Program staff. The home soon began meeting with the staff once a week.

The boys then began participating in group activities on the Boys Ranch Challenge Course. They were challenged with real and imaginary obstacles on the course that forced them to work together to accomplish a variety of tasks. Challenge Course activities are designed so the genuine and hidden personalities of the participants will surface. Through weekly activities, the boys slowly began to recognize the positive and negative behaviors of their group. The house parent was able to relate circumstances in the home that were similar to the circumstances that continued to occur on the Challenge Course.

Slowly, through building trust with the staff and feeling safe about sharing their true feelings, the issues were ultimately resolved in a satisfactory way. The true measure of success occurred when the boys began to transfer the concepts they learned from the adventure-related activities and began applying them to their daily lives.

“A lot of our kids have experienced loss and failure. The adventure program pulls kids out of a spiral and allows them to experience deep success.” -- Mark Strother, Cal Farley’s Residential Care