Adventure therapy: a mental health promotion strategy in pediatric oncology

In adventure therapy (AT), health professionals and adolescents with cancer come together to explore the wilderness of nature. One goal of this therapy is to encourage the adolescents to enhance their self-concept as part of an overall physical, cognitive, emotional or spiritual, social and psychological, or developmental rehabilitation that promotes health. The adolescents with cancer who participate in AT also learn about themselves through self-evaluation, self-exploration, self-reevaluation, self-acceptance, and self-realization. Mental health promotion (MHP) is considered a perspective and a strategy to promote health. An AT experience could be an example of an MHP initiative in which nurses can take a leadership role in participating, and further investigating, the health effects of AT on adolescents with cancer.