Wilderness rites of passage (School of Lost Borders)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Steven Foster, Meredith Little · 1981 · Big Pine, California

What it is

Wilderness rites of passage are a contemporary, non-denominational revival of initiatory practice in which a person at a life transition is prepared by guides, spends a period alone in wild land under deliberate austerities (fasting, solitude, minimal shelter), and then returns to tell their story…

Format

• The School's rites draw on many traditions but share van Gennep's three stages. No source gives session counts; the therapist's work is framed by the client's timetable with the programme.
• Format: small groups led by trained guides, with individual solo time. Participants include at-risk young people, adolescents, and adults at mid-life, marriage, divorce, parenthood or the end of grieving; many are children of earlier participants.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Related programme standards: the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) accredits adventure and outdoor behavioural healthcare (OBH) programmes against risk-management and quality standards; at the end of 2023 it introduced client-rights standards on informed consent, involuntary clients, trauma-informed care, moving away from punitive practices and client voice, citing among other things the death of a young…
• Wilderness rites of passage are a contemporary, non-denominational revival of initiatory practice in which a person at a life transition is prepared by guides, spends a period alone in wild land under deliberate austerities (fasting, solitude, minimal shelter), and then returns to tell their story to a small council that reflects it back. It is not a psychotherapy: Foster and Little describe the guides as "lay…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• any coercion, restraint, punitive practices or blocked family contact: see 025.
• group pressure to disclose; dominant members. Working when quieter members speak and feel heard.
• blurred authority, clients deferring to you as an elder. Working when roles are clear to everyone.
• hollow praise; ignoring real distress. Working when the client recognises themselves in the reflection.
• severance enacted as rupture with supports. Working when the client holds both the symbol and their ties.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.