“Adventure Counseling.” Many people initially assume that a master’s-level counseling class with this title involves frivolous “fun and games” and offers little in the way of valuable content. In reality, it is a course unique in its educational potential and unlike any other educational experience I have taken part in as a professor.

Researchers have investigated the overall efficacy of adventure-based counseling (ABC) and its relationship to self-esteem. In 1994, D. Cason and H. Lee Gillis conducted a meta-analysis of ABC in 44 research studies with adolescents and self-esteem, social competence/life skills and training and reported an overall rate of improvement of 12.2 percent. That same year, Jennifer Davis-Berman and Denes Berman looked at self-efficacy, behavioral difficulties and locus of control in 31 therapeutic wilderness programs at both post-test and long-term follow-up and found that improvements were maintained over time (one and two years).

The conceptual framework of ABC is based on several counseling theories, including behavioral, cognitive and experiential learning. Reported psychological benefits of ABC include new levels of self-confidence, an increased willingness to take risks, improved self-concept, greater reflective thinking and enhanced skills in leadership and logical reasoning.

To paint a picture of what this class might look like, imagine a group of graduate-level adult learners spending one week together in the woods without desks or chalkboards, laptops or lectures, papers or exams. “Tests” come in the form of mental, emotional and physical hurdles that students encounter and overcome. These challenges are both stumbled upon and plotted by the students throughout the course. For example, students face tests of character and will as diverse as forcing themselves to speak up when they are usually reserved or looking at a 15-foot high wall and contemplating how to get over it when the most athletic endeavor they typically engage in is walking from their car to the classroom. Having to ask fellow group members for help or confiding in them that you are afraid to attempt an obstacle are representative of the unplanned challenges students face.

In ABC, activities once reserved for “kids” are used as teaching tools for adult learners — walking on wires, being passed through a tire by a group or falling off a platform into the arms of the group. Bonds develop not only among group members but also between the teacher and the students, which is a result not commonly found in the traditional classroom setting. In the process, some individuals push themselves further physically than they thought themselves capable of, while others fail to conquer the challenges they set for themselves.

In ABC, students set both individual and group goals for the week. For example, in the class that I led, one student who is normally a leader decided to take a back seat in group activities to observe and participate from a different perspective. Another decided that her demeanor was always very serious, so she set a goal to “have fun.” One student wrote that it was a challenge all week to remain aware of her goal — to refrain from judging people and to truly accept them. She came to recognize that another student’s physical challenges were just as valid as her emotional challenge. Group goals included being open and honest with fellow members and speaking up and informing the group of needs.

Students were given opportunities for reflection in the form of both journal writing and group debriefing after each course element and at the conclusion of the day’s instruction and group interaction. Participants spoke about the group cohesiveness that developed and how this aided them in attaining their personal goals or in gaining a sense of new self-acceptance even when they failed to reach a goal.

Distinct insights emerged out of the week’s activities and reflections, including an experiential understanding of how these skills and knowledge apply to the counseling setting. This allowed the counseling students to “walk in the shoes” of potential clients and to empathetically and cognitively understand the powerful potential for change that a group can exert on a client. Being helped, accepted and valued as a person by the group, even when personal goals go unmet, is an experience that encourages change.

Students regularly discussed the new level of personal insight gained through the ABC activities, freshly recognizing how their thoughts and actions had impacted interactions with others. Some members spoke about their competitiveness and how that colored their view of a task — expressing frustration when they felt fellow group members weren’t “trying hard enough,” for example. This realization led to an understanding regarding not living in the present and how this could become a countertransference issue in therapy.

One participant found herself taking responsibility for another student’s failings, despite 10 other group members being present during the process. This led to an important question: Would this student also take responsibility for her client’s failings in therapy?

Group members also tackled trust issues, because they found they had to rely on others for the successful completion of a task. This became an empathy lesson in understanding what some clients experience when faced with having to trust their counselor. One student wrote about her feelings of being led through a challenge blindfolded. When her partner led her into an object that caused her to hurt her leg, the result was an inability to trust the “guiding” partner. Compounding the situation was the partner’s laughter. Through this process, she came to realize that communication is the cornerstone of the counseling process and that people interpret actions according to their own phenomenological views. A laugh, even if only nervous laughter, might be interpreted as uncaring.

Other insights involved the participants’ “imaginary audience.” Many students focused on how the group might perceive them and acted according to this self-conscious view. For example, body image and weight were of great concern to a number of group members. This became a source of inhibition and a limiting factor for some as they performed activities. Another example was group members’ awareness of their physical abilities or age differences in comparison to others. Students experienced how these biases controlled their behaviors and were thus able to envision how these perceptions might impact a client in the counseling relationship.

Group members also commented on absorbing the value of debriefing, group process, teamwork, sequencing and reading your group through the week’s interactions. Many spoke about how they intended to apply the lessons learned to the particular populations with which they worked.

As a climax to the week, each participant was asked to lead a group through an activity of his or her own design. Individuals recounted the anticipatory anxiety they felt as well as the sense of accomplishment they garnered from being a leader and applying the knowledge learned through adventure counseling. Students were required to evaluate themselves both as leaders and as group participants and received written feedback from the group. In their journals, students commented on the applicability of the activities led by their peers as well as their experience in leading the group.

As the instructor for this course, I had an experience unlike any other, not just because of the physical setting but also in the development and education of the counseling students. I witnessed personal growth, watched students overcome enormous challenges and felt a sense of unparalleled community in class. Adventure counseling translates directly into clinical or school counselor settings. It was a wonderful opportunity and process for me as the instructor, and I thank all the students for allowing me to be a part of their experience.

Louise Graham is an associate professor in the Graduate Department of Counselor Education at Bridgewater State College. She also holds clinical privileges at the Boston Veterans New England Healthcare System and has a Harvard Clinical appointment.

For the past decade, the unmoderated COUNSGRADS listserv has been connecting, advising and supporting graduate students in counselor education programs nationwide. The listserv is a place for graduate students to exchange dialogue about the topics they’re exploring in classes and the research they’re conducting, share ideas about counseling and the counseling profession, solicit assistance with job searches and much more.

“It really runs the gamut,” says Darcy Haag Granello, the COUNSGRADS group owner and a counselor educator at the Ohio State University. “It’s whatever the students need it to be — to provide support, encouragement or information.”

At any given time, approximately 1,000 members subscribe to the listserv, but that number fluctuates as students graduate and move on each spring and summer and as new students join up in the fall. “The numbers ebb and flow with the school quarters,” Granello says. “It’s a very transient listserv but very active.”

The idea for the listserv emerged in 1997 with a discussion in Granello’s master’s-level counseling practicum class at Ohio State. Then an assistant professor of counselor education, Granello was talking with her students about the importance of peer support and camaraderie within the counseling program. “They said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could talk to students in other programs and see if they are going through these same things?’” Granello recalls. “This was when listservs were relatively new — or at least new to me.”

Granello worked with her university to host the platform. Her goal was for the listserv to become national in scope, but the question was how to let others know about the potentially valuable resource. She started by spreading the word to her fellow counselors educators and members of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, a division of the American Counseling Association. About six months into the project, she approached ACA with a request to assist in publicizing and promoting the listserv to its members. Within 24 hours of the initial COUNSGRADS announcement on other counseling listservs, more than 50 students from across the country had joined in the discussion.

“The thing I like about the listserv is how helpful and supportive the students are with one another,” Granello says. She moderates the messages only if a serious infraction takes place or a student gets way out of line. “I usually don’t intervene unless someone has used inappropriate language or is threatening,” she says.

She occasionally receives a message from a group member complaining about another member or a topic on the COUNSGRADS listserv. In those instances, she reminds the person lodging the complaint about the listserv’s purpose. “I tell them that part of being a counselor is understanding group process,” she says. “This is a great learning experience. I tell them if they don’t like a topic or don’t care for where the discussion is headed, introduce a new subject. Take control — this isn’t my listserv, it’s yours.”

There are few rules. Students may discuss or ask whatever they want, although Granello encourages them to keep all comments respectful and courteous. Group discussions typically cover a wide range of topics: from members’ anxiety over starting a new internship or practicum to how students define personal values and identity, from politics and legislation to concerns about social issues and how they relate to counseling.

“I’m just the list owner, not the moderator,” Granello emphasizes. “I don’t engage in discussions or answer questions. That’s not what this is about. Every once in a while a counselor educator or faculty member will come on there and be very active in trying to answer all the questions. That’s helpful, but that’s not what we are doing. It’s about helping each other out and what it’s like being a student. They don’t need another faculty member telling them the answers. They need to figure it out among themselves.” While it’s fine for professionals to chime in occasionally to answer a specific question, Granello stresses, the forum is mainly for student support.

A lot of work, but a worthy cause

“When I first started this, I didn’t envision it having this long of a history or that I would still be doing it,” Granello says. “I would never get rid of it, but I am amazed with how much time it takes to manage it.”

On a typical day, members post 40 to 50 messages. Granello opens each one, both to verify that what is being posted to the forum is appropriate and to check to see if student are asking questions specific to the site (Granello answers these questions herself). It’s a huge, year-round responsibility for her — there are no days off, no holiday breaks, no free summers.

For the first time since starting the listserv, Granello is  receiving some help managing the forum logistically from her teaching assistant. The process of managing the listserv can get particularly hectic around graduation time each year because many students fail to “unsubscribe” their university e-mail addresses. Granello then receives a return error message for every e-mail that is posted to the listserv and bounces back from a graduate’s old e-mail address.

“On any given day, it’s not just one person (with a closed e-mail account) but 10,” Granello says, “so I can easily get 500 error messages in one day. You can imagine how much time that takes.” For that exact reason, she tries particularly hard to educate students about the proper way to unsubscribe to the listserv.

“I don’t know what the future is for the listserv,” she says, “but I do know it’s an important service. I know the students value it or there wouldn’t be 1,000 members on it. I think it’s important, or I wouldn’t put my time into it.”

Granello wouldn’t mind the bittersweet relief of passing the baton on to a new list owner, she confesses, but says she will continue to run the listserv until that day arrives. “It’s been a really neat experience for me to have watched for 10 years what students from all over the country are going through,” she says. “It’s exciting as a faculty member to have this insight into what students are learning, thinking and trying to understand from all different programs. I have a really good sense from reading thousands and thousands of messages from students. It’s a really nice feeling for me to know that the profession is in such good hands, that these are the future counselors.”

Take their word for it

Current COUNSGRADS participants weigh in on the value of the listserv:

“As a first year master’s community counseling graduate student, I have found the COUNSGRADS listserv to be an excellent resource and wealth of valuable information. Because this listserv has a wide variety of members, some of whom are very new to the field and others who have successful private practices, the e-mails exchanged are typically balanced, informed and engaging. If an e-mail is written by a member that is not in line with others’ experiences and knowledge, this will be respectfully challenged and possibly corrected. When I have questions about anything counseling related, I simply send an e-mail out to the listserv, and a counselor-in-training or practicing counselor will thoughtfully respond with a helpful perspective. As a new student, COUNSGRADS has broadened my understanding and outlook regarding counseling issues across the spectrum and across the country. I get to learn about many counseling-related concerns in other states as members express their frustrations, experiences and knowledge. For instance, the listserv was the first place I became aware that Nevada and California do not have counselor licensure (LPC) legislation.”

Shaun Fischler
University of Northern Colorado

“I am relatively new to the listserv and have only been an active participant for a few months. In those few months, I have become a walking advertisement and supporter for the COUNSGRADS listserv throughout grad school at Wayne State University and with other personal contacts. The listserv has offered a line of communication that far exceeds any that I have experienced before because its members are truly working for a common goal. Where else can grad students and working professionals at all levels, on opposite sides of the country, communicate and share information immediately like coworkers do? The listserv has become a trusted friend that I know I can go to and ask questions about what is happening right here and right now, as well as answer questions that I am knowledgeable about. It’s not about how much we know personally, but about how much collectively we can share, and that, I believe, has kept the listserv going for 10 years.”

Kathy Brusseau
Wayne State University

“I was a member for about a year-and-a-half while finishing my master’s degree and have stayed on it since graduating and joining a private practice in August because it is valuable not only to grad students but to new counselors as well.”

Lora Williams
Ohio

“I have been a member since I began my M.A. in community counseling in fall of 2003 (completing my degree on Aug. 17, 2006). As I have shifted from student to professional in the field, I remain on the listserv to give advice/support to others starting out in the field. I still rely on the listserv for support with cases/issues that I would either like another perspective on or help with. I believe that this listserv is invaluable and believe that in part my success as a professional is due to my ability to network with others in the field. This can be a very solitary existence, so it is wonderful to be able to connect with others so quickly.”

Cynthia Carlson Schamberger
University of Akron

“The COUNSGRADS listserv members pushed me to think beyond what I was learning in class! I think I just might be a member for life!”

Stephen Toglia, Counselor, National Counseling Group
Annandale, Va.

More information that’s good to know

• To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail to listproc@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu with “Subscribe COUNSGRADS (first name) (last name)” in the body of the message.
• To unsubscribe to the listserv, send an e-mail to listproc@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu with “Unsubscribe COUNSGRADS” in the body of the message.
• Active membership is strongly encouraged. It is to everyone’s advantage for listserv members to participate in the discussions.
• New members are encouraged to make an introductory post about themselves and their role in the counseling profession. Remember that every time you hit the return key from a post, your message will go out to the entire listserv.
• Questions or problems related to the COUNSGRADS listserv should be referred to the list’s owner, Darcy Haag Granello, at granello.1@osu.edu.

ACA and Ohio State University do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, timeliness or correct sequencing of information on the listserv. Use of such information is voluntary, and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness.