Wilderness Therapy Timeline

1800s #

• 1861 – Frederick Gunn opens the first U.S. summer camp at the Gunnery School in Connecticut.
  • It combines nature exposure with moral development.
• 1881 – Camp Chocorua is founded, seen as the ideological origin of modern camping theory.
  • Promotes character building, discipline, and outdoor education.
• Late 1800s–1920s – Fresh air camps, settlement houses, and urban reformers like Jane Addams and Joseph Lee use outdoor environments to discipline, moralize, and Americanize poor and immigrant children. Camps were often run by philanthropic organizations or media sponsors. Life Magazine Fresh Air Camps became emblematic of the trend by the 1920s, emphasizing moral reform and public hygiene. L.B. Sharp, a pioneer in outdoor education, was deeply influenced by both John Dewey’s philosophy and his experiences working at Life Fresh Air Camps during this period.

1900 to 1949 #

• 1901 – A.E. Macdonald Introduces Nature-Based Therapy in Institutional Psychiatry.
  • Macdonald, a psychiatrist at the New York State Lunatic Asylum, advocates for the therapeutic use of nature in mental health treatment. He implements outdoor experiences, including structured walks and gardening, as part of patient care, arguing that exposure to natural environments can aid in emotional regulation and behavioral management within institutional settings.
• 1920 – Dallas Salesmanship Club is founded.
  • By the 1940s, it developed one of the first explicitly therapeutic camp models under Campbell Loughmiller.
• 1926 – Camp Wawokiye Established:
  • Psychiatrist E.S. Rademacher establishes one of the first long-term camp-based programs for children with behavioral challenges, focusing on regimented activities supervised by mental health professionals.
• 1928 – E.S. Rademacher Publishes Research:
  • Rademacher publishes an article in Mental Hygiene describing camp-based interventions as a means to modify behavior in children.
• 1941 – Kurt Hahn establishes Outward Bound in the UK.
  • Its emphasis on personal growth through challenge inspires the U.S. wilderness education movement.
• 1944 – University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp begins training social work students in therapeutic camping with emotionally disturbed children.
• 1946 – Dallas Salesmanship Club Youth Camp officially opens.
  • Campbell Loughmiller blends outdoor living with group therapy and youth work.

1950 to 1979 #

• 1961 – Eckerd Youth Alternatives founded in Florida.
  • Draws from Loughmiller’s model and Glasser’s Reality Therapy, promoting outdoor-based rehabilitation for court-involved youth.
• 1965 – Campbell Loughmiller publishes Wilderness Road, codifying therapeutic camping principles.
• 1967 – Larry Olsen leads the first BYU survival trek with 12 boys in Escalante, Utah. This became the prototype for BYU 480.
• 1968 – BYU 480 formally launches as a university survival course.
  • Created by Larry Olsen and later run by Ezekiel Sanchez.
  • The 28-day course includes survival training, hiking, solo, and group expeditions.
• 1973 – VisionQuest is founded. Begins with harsh impact-style tactics later adopted by boot camps and wilderness programs.
• 1975 – Pressley Ridge Ohiopyle therapeutic camp is established, modeled on the Dallas Salesmanship Club.
• 1976 – Kenneth Seymour’s dissertation documents the psychological impact of BYU 480.
  • Finds participants experience increased life purpose and, in some cases, religious conversion.
• 1978 – Larry Wells publishes a how-to manual for starting wilderness rehab programs, formalizing structures for group wilderness treatment.

1980s and 1990s #

• 1981 – SUWS (School of Urban and Wilderness Survival) is founded by Larry Olsen and Larry Wells. Uses BYU-inspired primitive survival as the central intervention.
• 1983 – Wilderness Treatment Center founded by Mike and Pat Merchant. Uses a combination of survival skills and substance abuse counseling.
• 1985 – Three Springs opens in Alabama, explicitly modeled on the Salesmanship Club camp.
• 1987 – Steve Cartisano, a BYU 480 graduate and former Air Force survival instructor, launches the Challenger Foundation.
• 1988 – Aspen Achievement Academy is founded by Doug Nelson and others, formalizing wilderness therapy as a licensed clinical intervention.
• 1988 – Olsen and Sanchez co-found the Anasazi Foundation in Arizona, using Indigenous metaphor, LDS moralism, and primitive survival.
• 1989 – Kristen Chase, 16, dies from heatstroke at Challenger Foundation.
  • Cartisano and staff are criminally charged but acquitted. The case pushes Utah to begin regulating wilderness programs.
• 1990 – Utah becomes the first state to regulate wilderness therapy, prompted by the 1989 death of Kristen Chase.
  • Senate Bill 123 mandates licensing for outdoor youth programs, including mandatory physical exams, medical oversight, and staff credentialing.
• 1990 – Michelle Sutton, 15, dies of dehydration at Summit Quest.
• 1994 – NATWIC (National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps) is formed. Founders include staff from Anasazi, Three Springs, and Dallas Salesmanship Club.
• 1995 – Aaron Bacon, 16, dies of acute peritonitis due to medical neglect at North Star Expeditions.
• 1997 – OBHIC (Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council) is founded by Anasazi, SUWS, Aspen, Catherine Freer, and RedCliff Ascent.
• 1998 – Second Nature is founded by Aspen alumni Cheryl Kehl, Devan Glissmeyer, and Vaughn Heath. Brad Reedy joins later. Helps define the modern wilderness therapy format.

2000 to today #

• 2001 – Ryan Lewis, 14, dies by suicide at Alldredge Academy.
• 2002 – Ian August, 14, dies of heat exhaustion at Skyline Journey.
• 2003 – Cory Baines, 16, is killed by a falling tree limb at Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy.
• 2007 – Sergey Blashchishen, 16, dies of dehydration and hyperthermia at SageWalk Wilderness School.
• 2007 – GAO report and Congressional hearings document abuse and deaths in wilderness programs. Federal regulation stalls.
• 2010s – Marketing pivots toward mental health and family systems. Programs increasingly accept insurance. Oversight remains inconsistent.
• 2014 – Alec Lansing, 17, dies of hypothermia while attempting to escape from Trails Carolina.
• 2020s – Survivors expose abuse across both state-funded and private programs. Anasazi, BlueFire, Trails Carolina, and others face scrutiny. Eckerd Connects loses multiple contracts.
• 2024 – Clark Harman, 12, dies of asphyxia during staff restraint at Trails Carolina.
• Present – Most wilderness programs trace their lineage to one of three sources: the Dallas Salesmanship Club, BYU 480 (LDS survivalism), or Outward Bound. Survivor-led movements call for regulation, reparations, and abolition.

Sources #

• Los Angeles Times. (1995, January 15). Walking in the wilderness: An alternative approach to therapy for troubled teens. Retrieved May 29, 2025, fromLa xpm 1995 01 15 tm story (latimes.com)
• Loughmiller, C. (1965). Wilderness road: The story of the Salesmanship Club Youth Camp. Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.
• Loughmiller, C. (1972). Kids in trouble: An adventure in education. Prentice-Hall.
• RedCliff Ascent. (n.d.). Clan of the Hand: BYU 480 and the legacy of wilderness survival. Retrieved May 29, 2025, fromClan of the hand (redcliffascent.com)
• StrugglingTeens. (2013, August 15). Doug Nelson: Career achievement award. Retrieved May 29, 2025, fromPrinter WRI RS shtml (strugglingteens.com)
• Watson, N. J., Weir, S., & Friend, S. (2005). The development of Muscular Christianity in Victorian Britain and beyond. Journal of Religion and Society, 7.Jrs (moses.creighton.edu, archived 2011)
• White, N. W. (2011). Stories from the elders: Chronicles and narratives of the early years of wilderness therapy (Doctoral dissertation, Franklin Pierce University). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.Docview (proquest.com)