Abstract
The focus of this capstone paper is an exploration of the concept of "emotional safety" through the use of in-depth interviewing. The interview subjects are Outward Bound facilitators. The training context is the wilderness. The facilitators offered their definitions of "emotional safety" and strategies that they use to create emotional safety in an Outward Bound experience. The four primary population groups they work with are adults, youth,, and "youth at risk," professional development groups (corporate training) and educational service groups (women and Vietnam veterans).
The research is based on Kurth Hahn's, the originator of the Outward Bound experience, philosophy that the use of adventure based experiential learning allows for the development of the total self. The development of the total self encompasses the intellectual, emotional and physical capacities of an individual that need to be fully developed. This is what makes the Outward Bound experience unique.
Conclusions drawn include definitions of emotional safety, specific strategies used with the above population groups, the role of the instructor in creating emotional safety, and how much consideration a facilitator gives to the concept of emotional safety.
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Petrakos, Diane F., "Getting to safe : definitions and strategies from the Outward Bound facilitator on creating an "emotionally safe" learning environment" (1998). Capstone Collection. 983.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/983