Background: The intense nature of the camp experience and the unique role of camp counselors can be a rewarding experience for camp counselors and campers alike. However, to experience compassion satisfaction necessitates evaluation of a number of factors that may enhance or decrease compassion satisfaction. Purpose: To better understand the camp…

This research examines the characteristics of adults that girls and adult OST facilitators consider most important for supporting positive youth development experiences in the outdoors. Three factors are identified: Emotional support, challenge support, and outdoor preparedness. While Emotional Support is rated most important by both girls and…

Uses the scenario of a women's adventure therapy trip to illustrate theoretical and practical information about "basic" therapeutic communication skills with participants in outdoor adventure settings. Discusses gender-based language style (women's "tentative" language), issues of physical and emotional safety, a philosophical…

Over 70 years ago, female leaders in organized camping, the only form of outdoor experiential education then available, shaped the meaning of professionalism and controlled organizational structures and policies. Their achievement is paradigmatic of women's professional struggles in the outdoor pursuits professions in this century. This book…

Responds to a letter from a camp leader who experienced difficulty with an adolescent girl during a 3-day hike and disapproved of a staff member's response. Offers advice on handling such a problem, addressing the staff member's intervention without undermining his credibility, revisiting the situation with the group, and exploiting the…

A study found that male and female co-leaders of wilderness camping trips were very aware of stereotypes of male and female leadership roles. Sometimes leaders deliberately performed stereotypical tasks and roles of the opposite sex, but tasks and roles generally resulted from preferences, necessity, or participant expectations. The D-R model of…

Questionnaire responses of 130 women outdoor leaders representing Outward Bound, all-women groups, university recreation instructors, and primary/secondary school teachers were compared as to background, income, motivations, and leadership perceptions. Essential leadership qualities were identified: effective communication skills and knowledge of…

Emphasizes the importance of leader awareness of the discomfort and need for emotional safety that may surface for women survivors of sexual abuse during an outdoor experience. Discusses survivor's self-perception and how this affects the outdoor experience; the impact of natural elements on survivors; and how to help survivors develop coping…

The founder of an all-women canoe-tripping company describes the components that have made it successful: shared leadership, outdoor guides as facilitators, support of individual choices, a nonprescriptive agenda, conflict avoidance and resolution, balance between getting somewhere and experiencing the moment, focus on women's strengths, and a…

This document contains a list of authors who have published research studies pertaining to women's experiences and adventures in the outdoor environment, a complete bibliography of their publications, and a set of abstracts of a selection of these publications in a separate section. The complete bibliography includes 124 books, journal articles,…

Experiential educators are encouraged to include singing in their curriculum. Singing offers a dynamic form of creative engagement and can assist learners in taking risks in their learning and in active experimentation. As a holistic learning tool, singing engages the six capabilities that humans have for learning: physical, emotional, cognitive,…

Women engaging in outdoor activities tend to be more supportive of each other and more willing to express their feelings and apprehensions about adventurous settings than are men. It is important for women to have strong female leaders as role models. Instructors should be aware that women's learning styles and learning curves differ from men's.…

Feminist perspectives provide a basis for examining the nature of participation in outdoor experiences, the goals of outdoor leadership, and the meanings associated with the outdoors. Feminism is concerned with the correction of both the invisibility and distortion of female experience in ways relevant to social change and removal of social…

This book was written to help Girl Scout leaders prepare themselves and the girls with whom they work to enjoy outdoor experiences together. It complements the age-level handbook and leaders' guide, and training provided by the local Girl Scout council. The book contains nine chapters. The first chapter lists age-level characteristics of girls,…

Describes an adventure-therapy program run by Woodswomen in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, designed to help women offenders learn new skills and ways of being that will help them stay out of jail. Discusses leadership considerations, a parallel program for their children, and the application of risk-taking skills for…