Adventure Therapy
Overview
BaMidbar offers community-based and immersive adventure therapy programs for Jewish teens and young adults (ages 13-28) struggling with mild to moderate emotional, behavioral, and social challenges. The program uses wilderness and adventure-based experiences as a vehicle to promote self-reflection and therapeutic growth, while helping participants build a toolkit to face life’s challenges. Licensed mental health professionals provide individual and group therapy, and develop individualized treatment plans for each student.
Upcoming Programs
No Programs Found.
BaMidbar is transitioning its residential treatment model to a community-based outpatient therapy program. Individual, group, and family therapy will be offered in Boston starting in June, 2023. Immersive wilderness trips will be offered quarterly, beginning in Fall 2023.
OUR STUDENTS
We help Jewish teens and emerging adults build resilience and overcome obstacles. Life challenges may include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Identity exploration
- A “failure to launch”
- Negative life patterns
- Mild substance use or abuse
- Academic or employment challenges
Our Approach
Adventure Therapy
The practice of Adventure Therapy is the prescriptive use of adventure experiences provided by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings, that kinesthetically engage individuals, families and groups on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels.
It is an experiential and activity-based approach to mental health treatment. While adventure therapy often takes place outside of the typical office setting, evidence-based psychological frameworks such as cognitive behavioral therapy, systems theory, and somatic psychotherapy are integrated into the experiential environment.
Clinical Intervention
Students work with a therapist through individual, group, and family therapy. Licensed mental health professionals develop individualized treatment plans, provide therapy, and facilitate adventure-based learning experiences. Learn more about BaMidbar’s clinical approach here.
Jewish Lens
At BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy, we meet every student where they are in their unique Jewish journey, and honor the roll Judaism does – or does not – play in their life. Using 3,000 years of Jewish tradition that speaks to the question, “What does it mean to live well?” BaMidbar students explore meaning, values, and purpose through a Jewish lens. BaMidbar’s program is pluralistic, kosher, and Shabbat-observant.
Curriculum
What can I expect at BaMidbar? While every student’s process is individualized, there are four overriding themes present in all of BaMidbar’s therapeutic programs.
Phase 1
Kavanah - Intentions
Students focus on goal setting and work with their therapist to set intentions for their time at BaMidbar. Students learn backcountry basics and embark on their first mini-masa (excursion) to start building self-efficacy and gaining confidence in their backpacking skills. Each student has the opportunity to open up to the group and share a Personal Narrative of the journey that has brought them to this point in their lives. The exercise asks students to reflect on their perceived identity and opens the conversation about not just who they think they are, but who they want to be.
Driving Questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What do I hope to gain from this experience? How do I keep myself safe in this new environment?
Phase 2
YIRAH – AWE
Students confront fear and awe, which, in Judaism, are often seen as two sides of a single coin. Within the context of a safe environment and supportive community, students are encouraged to take calculated risks and test their personal boundaries of what they thought was possible on a full 5-day masa. They begin to find beauty in both the challenge and their ability to overcome, and build confidence that they can persevere. Students also learn the fundamentals of nonviolent communication (NVC), and push their limits during a day of climbing.
Driving Questions: What am I scared of? How do I deal with fear? Am I able to move through challenges despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles? Why bother?
Phase 3
KESHER – CONNECTION
Students explore the multifaceted nature of their relationships with themselves and the people around them. They navigate group dynamics and interpersonal conflict with increasing independence and are able to move through the wilderness environment together with newfound comfort and ease. Students test their skills on a 24-hour solo experience, during which time they reflect on their identity outside of that role they have come to play in the group. In a very real way, students consider the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental struggles that can arise in solitude.
Driving Questions: What is self-love, and what does that look like for me? How can I develop and maintain caring and compassionate relationships with others?
Phase 4
KEHILLAH – COMMUNITY
Students synthesize lessons learned through their experiences in the field, and explore how they will begin to integrate those takeaways into their lives at home. They explore the role of community in their time at BaMidbar, and learn strategies for building and sustaining positive social support networks outside of the program. Students work with their field guides and therapists to design transition plans to aid in their journey as they prepare to leave the program.
Driving Questions: Now what? Where do I go from here? What are my next steps? Who are my support networks? How will I maintain this momentum and hold myself accountable?
Day in the Life
Morning
Students wake up with the sun and start the day with Shmirat Hanefesh, literally: Guarding of the Soul. This mindfulness practice brings us into our bodies and also makes space for those who wish to daven shacharit (recite the morning prayers). During breakfast, the group does individual check-ins, and each student sets a S.M.A.R.T. goal for the day. The group cleans up and completes camp chores as they pack and prepare for the day’s hike. With packs on and the campsite clear, the group takes a moment to set intentions before hitting the trail.
Afternoon
Evening
During dinner, each student checks in on their daily goal, and once everything is cleaned up, the group comes together around the fire for an evening group. Field guides will either facilitate a conversation on a new clinical topic, or take advantage of an opportunity to debrief something that came up during the day. These are opportunities for students to practice thinking critically about their impact on the group, and make transferable meaning from the experiences they are having in the field. After a deep sigh and a howl, students take care of personal hygiene and head to bed.
Shabbat
The group returns to base camp and spends all day on Friday getting ready for Shabbat. Students take showers, prepare fresh produce, and cook fish over the fire. They learn to make challah and bake the loaves over a hotbed of coals. Students come in with varying levels of comfort with the traditional prayers, and we do a song-filled Friday night and Saturday morning service to bring together our community. We have long meals filled with stories and singing, and use the weekly Torah portion as a foundation from which to talk about our own experiences. Students find plenty of time to rest their bodies and their minds through games, naps, reading, and personal journaling.
LOCATION & FACILITIES
Basecamp
BaMidbar’s Therapeutic Expeditions return weekly to our basecamp for Shabbat. Located 90 minutes from Denver at an elevation of 8,000 feet, the basecamp is surrounded by magnificent towering mountain peaks with on-site natural climbing walls, and has three mountain-fed streams running through its center. BaMidbar’s accommodations are primitive with no electricity or running water. Students and staff sleep in a canvas platform tent, built solidly to withstand the elements. The group has access to bathrooms and showers. All meals are cooked outside either over a fire or using a propane stove.
While BaMidbar operates on a secluded corner of the Ramah in the Rockies ranch, our program operates as a closed system. BaMidbar staff and students do not have any interaction or overlap with the Ramah in the Rockies community.
BACKCOUNTRY EXCURSIONS
BaMidbar takes advantage of the public lands available across the state of Colorado, including local wilderness areas, and State and National Parks. Students spend Sunday-Thursday of each week on masa (backcountry excursion), backpacking across Colorado public lands. When groups are in the backcountry, students establish camp on a nightly basis. Students use drip filters and Aquamira to purify water, and rely on fire and camp stoves to cook group meals.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Inquiry
Our process typically begins with a conversation between the student or the student’s family and a BaMidbar staff member. Please call (720) 835-2937 ext. 0 to speak with a BaMidbar staff member.
Application
Applications are completed using a secure online form, which can be accessed by clicking the button above. If you have questions about the application, please email Emily Heeren at emilyh@bamidbartherapy.org.
Interview
Once the completed application is received, the BaMidbar Admissions Team will be in touch within three business days (excluding Jewish holidays) to schedule an interview between the potential student and our Clinical Director. These conversations typically take place over Zoom or phone and are designed to ensure that BaMidbar will be able to support the student, their needs, and their therapeutic goals.
Acceptance
The BaMidbar Admissions Team will reconvene to review the initial application in conjunction with information gathered in the Clinical Interview to determine whether BaMidbar will be an appropriate placement for the applicant. This process usually takes 1-3 days and may require additional follow-up conversations in order for our team to make an informed decision.
Enrollment
After acceptance into the program, BaMidbar will work with families to ensure that all forms and payments are completed and submitted before the student arrives. A program deposit invoice will also be sent upon acceptance and it must be paid in order to confirm a spot in the program.
Financial Aid
Once accepted into the program, all students are welcome to apply for financial aid. Financial aid is awarded on a rolling basis. In order to make a formal request, we require the following information:
- A: Letter detailing your financial need, including the specific amount of financial aid you’re requesting to enable the student’s participation in our program
- B: Two most recently filed complete (including all schedules and forms) federal income tax returns for the parent(s), guardian(s) and/or legal custodian(s).
- C: Two most recent pay stubs for working parent(s), guardian(s) and/or legal custodian(s)
- D: Most recent W-2(s) and/or 1099s for each working parent(s), guardian(s) and/or legal custodian(s)
- E: For self-employed parent(s), guardian(s) and/or legal custodian(s), instead of items C and D above, please provide your most current income statement and balance sheet for your business
Financial aid information should be emailed to Hayden Lilien, BaMidbar COO, at HaydenL@BaMidbarTherapy.org. Hayden oversees BaMidbar’s financial aid committee and the committee meets on the first Thursday of every month. You will be notified of the committee’s official decision shortly thereafter. If you send password-protected files you MUST also provide the password – otherwise, your application may be delayed or declined. All requests for financial aid are treated with the highest degree of confidentiality.
If someone other than the above-listed parties will be financially responsible, please contact Hayden. BaMidbar recognizes that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, a family’s level of need may not be adequately captured by your latest tax return. In the letter, please include any pertinent changes to the applicant’s or applicant’s family’s financial situation as a result of the pandemic. BaMidbar is also open to working with families to create a payment plan to ease the impact of the full cost of the program. Plans are designed to span between the time a student is accepted into the program and May 1, 2022.
COVID Information & Updates
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
With your partnership, we remain steadfast in our commitment to create a safe operating environment for both students and staff, while continuing to deliver on our mission to ensure that Jewish youth and young adults have the confidence, skills and community support to navigate life’s challenges and thrive in the face of adversity.
Since early July 2020, a dedicated and well-qualified group of lay leaders and staff have been following the science and researching best practices to ensure we can deliver on this commitment. You can read Our Roadmap to Summer 2022 below to better understand our COVID-19 safety policies.
While BaMidbar operates on a secluded corner of the Ramah in the Rockies ranch, our program operates as a closed system. BaMidbar staff and students do not have any interaction or overlap with the Ramah in the Rockies community.