What is experiential therapy?
Experiential therapy is a hands-on experience-based approach that helps people overcome mental or emotional challenges. In a nutshell, it’s about learning through experience.
Experiential therapists (ETs) are trained in a variety of specialty areas. They create situations where people can explore emotions, self, and others, as well as how they perceive the outside world. Through the use of metaphor and experience, they’re able to bring the traditional treatment work into real-life situations, or as close to it as possible.
What are experiential therapy activities?
Art therapy
Through the use of clay, paint, and other media, art helps people learn how to explore and express their thoughts and feelings.
Therapeutic horticultural
Gardening and other plant-based activities help people learn to nurture, which carries over into lessons of self-worth and self-care.
Recreational therapy
Whether individual or group-based, recreational therapy encourages people to lower their defenses and show their true selves. Struggles in life oftentimes play out within the game or activity. Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specialists are trained to ask the right questions. They support people learning more about themselves, their responses to the outside world and others so they can identify changes they want to make.
Dance movement therapy
Dance movement therapy gives people opportunities to connect or reconnect with their bodies and learn to work with, rather than against them.
Canine Assisted Intervention/Canine comfort
Rogers is unique in its offering of Canine Assisted Intervention, featuring Kobe. Trained to work with people under the guidance of a professional handler, Kobe works one-on-one to help people achieve identified goals as part of their treatment plan. The Canine Assisted Intervention program at Rogers is funded by the Rogers Foundation.
Therapy teams, also known as canine comfort animals, are trained to work alongside their owner to provide comfort, affection, enjoyment, and relaxation in a variety of environments. Unlike Canine Assisted Intervention, treatment goals are not identified or worked on.
What can someone expect when participating in experiential therapy interventions?
As part of the treatment plan for a person who has contamination OCD, fears germs, and excessively washes their hands, a behavioral specialist will work with them to be able to tolerate getting their hands dirty and resisting the urge to wash them. An ET will take them into a greenhouse to plant in the dirt without washing their hands.
For a person with social anxiety, a behavioral specialist may tell them to give random people a compliment then sit with the anxiety until it lessens. An ET may take the person to a sporting event and have them order food or ask where their seats are.
For someone struggling with addiction or substance use, the ET may challenge old thought processes by providing opportunities to face negative thinking, problem solve through difficult situations, challenge the thoughts that occur, and begin to help the person see themselves outside of their addiction.
In those real-life situations, experiential therapy helps people take the skills they’re learning in treatment and apply them to real-life situations.
Click here to watch Mike Hoelzer, experiential therapist at Rogers in Oconomowoc explain while working with clay.
What are the benefits of experiential therapy?
While learning new skills, experiential therapy techniques support treatment by helping people:
- Practice and improve coping skills.
- Take healthy risks.
- Express and work through difficult emotions.
- Build trust in self and others.
- Develop teamwork and interpersonal skills.
- Enhance problem-solving abilities and navigate challenges.
- Deepen understanding of treatment.
Although activities like art therapy are fun, there are difficult topics and realizations that people encounter during their sessions. For example, through the creative process in art therapy, the person receiving care and therapist may be able to pinpoint the exact stressor that caused the person to seek treatment, talk about that moment, and discuss how they may be able to improve their skills.
How does Rogers offer experiential therapy?
Experiential therapy offerings vary at Rogers’ locations.
Mental health and addiction help at Rogers
If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health or addiction, our compassionate teams are ready to help. To get started, call 833-308-5887 a free, confidential screening.
