When considering treatment options for a young person in distress, safety is always the first question. Parents want to know: Will my child be safe in wilderness therapy?
The most important step is to make sure the program is a member of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council (OBHC). OBHC programs must meet strict accreditation standards and follow rigorous clinical and safety protocols, including:
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Licensed mental health oversight
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24/7 access to medical support
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Highly trained staff (including wilderness first responders)
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Low staff-to-client ratios for close supervision
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Regular accreditation reviews through the Association for Experiential Education
These requirements help ensure that OBHC programs maintain a safe, structured environment where young people can heal and grow.
What the report found
A long-term review of OBHC programs analyzed incident data from 2006 to 2022. Together, these programs served more than 36,000 clients and tracked safety outcomes for over 2.2 million program days.
Here’s what families should know:
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Extremely low fatality risk: Young people in the general U.S. population are 6.5 times more likely to suffer a fatality than those enrolled in wilderness therapy.
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Injuries requiring outside care are rare: About 2% of clients experienced an injury that required care out of the field — a rate similar to emergency room visits for U.S. youth.
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Running away is uncommon: Only 0.04% of clients left a program without permission, compared to much higher rates of runaway behavior in the general youth population.
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Suicide attempts lower than expected: Because wilderness therapy serves adolescents in acute emotional distress, experts expected much higher rates. Instead, the rate was only slightly above the general population (0.6% vs. 0.4%).
Programs can track and calculate their own injury rates using our Program Injury Calculator
What this means for families
Wilderness therapy gives young people facing mental, behavioral, or relationship struggles a safe, structured space to heal. The data show that despite serving some of the most vulnerable youth, these programs maintain safety rates as good as, or better than, everyday life for teens and young adults.
For parents weighing treatment options, this report provides reassurance: your child’s safety is taken seriously, and wilderness therapy programs that follow OBHC standards have the oversight and safeguards in place to support their growth and well-being.
