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  • ashlee10106

Learning responsibility through hard experience

Learning to take responsibility for one’s actions is a key component of recovery from porn addiction and problematic sexual behavior. At STAR Guides, we utilize every aspect of the wilderness therapy experience to teach responsibility. Often however for our students, this is much easier said than done. Taking responsibility in a wilderness setting involves taking care of and keeping track of camp gear, food rations, clothes and phase books.

A common occurrence involves students losing items of clothing or gear. This happens when a student does not roll their survival pack tight and items fall out of their pack or when they are careless in packing their gear when they break camp and they inadvertently leave it behind.

It would be easy for us to simply send out new clothing or gear at the next supply drop. We have learned however, that there is therapeutic value in allowing a student to have to take responsibility for their actions both good and bad.

An example of this is noted in the photo of one our students who lost one of his sandals. He thinks it may have fallen off his pack or that perhaps he left it at a previous camp. Rather than sending him new ones, it was suggested he figure out how to solve the problem himself. With his lead instructor Blue Ridge’s guidance he crafted a flip flop with his sleeping pad and some bow string.

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