Experiential Therapies for Teens

There are tried and true treatments in the mental health world, and these work for many people. Yet every medical discipline is always seeking out innovations that can provide even more help for those in need. For teens, some of these exciting new therapies involve experiences that can make all the difference to their mental health.

What is an experiential therapy?

While traditional mental health therapies tend to focus on talk therapy, experiential therapy involves movement and activities. These activities allow teens to engage with therapy without necessarily being aware of the therapy itself.

Through these therapies, mental health professionals at groups like Polaris Residential Teen Programs can observe teens as they engage in these experiences, gaining valuable insight into the teens’ thought processes and feelings. At the same time, the therapy can reveal to the teens what they really need.

Types of Experiential Therapy

• Equine therapy: Also known as horse therapy, this involves interaction between the patient and horses. The patients spend time grooming, feeding, and leading horses while being supervised by a mental health professional.
• While the horse and patient interact, the therapist is able to observe the patient’s behavior patterns and emotions. The therapy also helps the patient learn to be responsible for a living thing, exercise self-control, and improve their self-confidence.
• Music and art therapy: Both music and art are incredible ways to improve one’s mental health. Therapists guide patients in how to use art to communicate and express their emotions in a healthy way. Music is helpful for improving quality of life and communication skills.
• Both of these therapies are excellent ways to reduce stress, cope with pain, deal with trauma or grief, and learn to overcome anxiety. They can also help patients resolve conflicts with others.
• Wilderness therapy: In this kind of therapy, patients take part in a variety of outdoor activities overseen by a mental health therapist. Research has found that wilderness therapy for teens has a high success rate, not only initially but even when measured a year later.
• Wilderness therapy is especially potent at helping a therapist identify issues, helping teens develop their own coping strategies, and helping patients discharge with a more hopeful outlook on life and their future.

Who makes a good candidate for these types of therapies?

One of the reasons these therapies are recommended for teens is because they have proven most effective for children and adolescents, in part because younger people are less adept at expressing themselves than most adults. These therapies are particularly helpful for patients who:

• Cannot talk about their needs without becoming overly upset
• Suffer from some kind of trauma in addition to their mental health struggles
• Feel unable to discuss personal issues with anyone
• Particularly love one of the therapy cores, such as the outdoors, animals, or music

What are the benefit of these experiential therapies?

• Better communication skills: Over time, these therapies give teens the skills necessary to communicate better with others. This starts by helping them build a rapport with their therapist, which happens more easily in experiential therapies than in regular talk therapy.
• Ability to live in the moment: Because experiential therapies force participants to focus on a task that must be accomplished, whether that is leading a horse or playing music, teens learn how to focus on the moment instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
• Better mood: All these therapies can improve patients’ moods and decrease symptoms of depression. There are many reasons for this, including the therapies’ ability to help patients feel more empathy, get better coping skills, and improve their interpersonal skills.