Evaluating the Effectiveness of Adventure Therapy in Anxiety-Related Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of adventure therapy (AT) in the treatment of individuals with symptoms of anxiety-related disorders. This study reports findings from a comprehensive literature search, including 15 databases/repositories and seven key journal-specific searches. Studies were evaluated using standardized mean difference (SMD) and were assessed for risk of bias using funnel plot, fail-safe N, and trim and fill analysis. Twelve studies, containing a total of 21 effect sizes, were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of AT in decreasing symptoms of anxiety-related disorders (N = 2083), yielding a mean effect size of SMD = −0.56 (CI95 = −0.72, −0.39; PI95 = −1.25, 0.14). This meta-analysis provides evidence suggesting the effectiveness of AT in reducing symptoms associated with anxiety-related disorders. Support for AT as an evidence-based practice informs legislative and insurance policies, funding mechanisms for programming, and counselor training and credentialing. Our findings suggest that AT programs are effective in reducing anxiety-related disorder symptoms and underscore the need for increased support from legislative and insurance policies to increase client accessibility, an increase in funding mechanisms for AT programs across client settings, and the provision of more formal counselor training and credentialing.