Danville, New Hampshire · Since 1982Let’s talk · 603-382-4661
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Schools · Spark therapy groups

Real adventure.
Room to grow.

Spark puts therapy into action. Through ongoing small-group adventures, students build trusting relationships, discover their strengths, and practice skills they can bring back to school and everyday life.

  • Relationships first
  • Purposeful challenge
  • Ongoing clinical support
Discuss Spark for your school
A conversation during an Adventurelore outdoor experience
Our philosophy

Connection first.
Growth through action.

We start by getting to know students, having fun together, and giving them a reason to want to come back.

Shared adventures create opportunities for trust, respect, and connection—with our staff, with school staff, and with one another. Those relationships are the foundation of the therapeutic work. As trust grows, students can become more willing to try something difficult, accept support, and see themselves differently.

We bring therapeutic conversation and skills into real experiences. A shared challenge gives students a chance to notice frustration, try a different approach, speak up, or encourage a teammate—with support right there in the moment.

Growth through adventure

Small successes.
Wider possibilities.

A shared adventure can open several doors at once. Relationships, confidence, coping, and communication develop together as students try, reflect, and return for new experiences.

The Spark process

Try.
Discover.
Grow.

Supported by relationships.
Built through experience.

  1. 1

    Challenge

    Try something that stretches you, with support.

  2. 2

    Success

    Experience success with support. Notice progress, effort, and what helped.

  3. 3

    Self-esteem

    See your strengths. Believe in your ability to overcome challenges and be resilient.

  4. 4

    More openness

    Feel less guarded and more ready to accept feedback and help.

  5. 5

    Improved communication

    Using healthy communication skills. Self advocate, listening, and connect with greater confidence.

Connection & belonging

  • Trust with peers and adults
  • Healthy relationships and empathy
  • Giving and accepting support
  • A sense of having a place in the group

Confidence & resilience

  • Recognizing personal strengths
  • Persevering through difficulty
  • Recovering from setbacks
  • Believing “I can try hard things”

Emotions & mindset

  • Recognizing feelings and reactions
  • Practicing healthy coping skills
  • Managing frustration
  • Trying a new perspective or approach

Skills for everyday life

  • Problem solving and teamwork
  • Communication and self-advocacy
  • Leadership and responsibility
  • Understanding others’ perspectives and social situations
Improved communication helps the cycle begin again. As students feel more able to express themselves, listen, and accept support, they can become more willing to take on the next challenge—and experience new successes. Relationships, fun, and supportive guidance connect every step. Over time, our aim is to help students carry this mindset into everyday life: staying with a difficult assignment, reaching out to a new friend, or asking for help. Each student brings a different starting point and pace of growth.
What it can look like

Adventure is part
of the therapeutic work.

A session might bring students together for a team challenge, a climb, a paddle, or an adventure in the woods. Group counseling and guided reflection help students make sense of what they experience.

For example, a group working through a ropes-course challenge might need to pause, listen to a quieter teammate, and try a new plan. Our staff can help students notice what changed: How did you handle frustration? What made it easier to accept help? Where could you use that same skill at school?

Activities are selected around the students, therapeutic goals, season, and conditions. The experience changes; opportunities to connect and practice keep building.

An example session

Connect. Try. Reflect.
Come back and build.

A consistent group creates time for relationships to deepen and skills to be practiced across new experiences.

01

Connect and get ready

Check in, reconnect through an engaging activity, and identify a focus for the day.

02

Take on a shared challenge

Work through an adventure with staff coaching, opportunities to contribute, and support when something feels difficult.

03

Make the connection

Reflect on what happened, recognize useful choices, and identify something to practice back at school. Revisit it together next time.

From adventure back to school

The school partnership
is part of the work.

We strongly encourage a school staff member to participate alongside students. Sharing a challenge outside the classroom can open up new ways to connect and build trust. Back at school, that familiar adult can help students use the skills and strengths they discovered together.

We develop the group around students’ strengths, needs, existing supports, and goals for social-emotional growth, school engagement, and overall wellness. Consultation around IEP or 504 goals can be discussed as part of the partnership.

Before a series begins, we clarify group composition, referrals and consent, schedule, location, and how the school and Adventurelore will communicate and review progress.

Research-informed care

The research behind our approach

Adventure-based therapy has an encouraging research foundation, including studies in community mental health settings. Programs differ, and the strength of the evidence varies.

Adventure-based care

A study of youth counseling found greater clinician-rated improvement when care included an adventure component.

Read the study summary

Supportive relationships

Youth psychotherapy research links a collaborative therapeutic relationship with better outcomes.

Read the study summary

Established counseling methods

CBT has evidence for treating childhood anxiety.

Read the study summary

This research offers context for Spark’s approach; the studies below did not evaluate Spark itself.

These studies examine approaches used in the field, not Adventurelore’s own outcomes. They do not establish that combining these elements guarantees a particular result.

Explore the studies and what they mean →
How a partnership begins

Plan the support around the students.

01

Talk about your students

Discuss the population, goals, current supports, and what your school is hoping to address.

02

Choose a workable format

Determine a group structure, recurring schedule, and appropriate location together.

03

Coordinate the next steps

Clarify school collaboration, participation requirements, and how the program will support the agreed goals.

Planning for 2027–2028

Start a school partnership conversation.

We are discussing recurring Spark groups for the 2027–2028 school year. Contact our team about student goals, group composition, school collaboration, and a workable schedule. Please keep student names and clinical histories out of the initial general inquiry.

Practical questions

Planning
for Spark.

How often do Spark groups meet?

Groups can be structured on a recurring basis, such as weekly, every other week, or monthly. Timing is arranged with the school based on goals and availability.

Where can sessions take place?

We discuss programs at Adventurelore, at the school, and suitable adventure settings. The location depends on the participants, program design, and logistics.

Is Spark the same as a one-day SEL program?

Spark is an ongoing therapeutic group offering. Our community building and SEL experiences serve broader school community and skill-building goals and can be arranged as one-day programs.

Are you offering Spark for homeschool children?

We are exploring a separate homeschool Spark group. It is at the interest stage; ages, schedule, cost, and enrollment have not been established. Visit the homeschool page to learn more.

Making programs possible

Help funding your
school program.

School budgets are stretched. PTA/PTO support, local sponsors, education foundations, and certain district funding sources may help make a program possible.

Explore practical funding options

Community-building days: start with your PTA/PTO, education foundation, or a local sponsor. Some schools combine family contributions with school support so every student can participate.

Spark and ongoing therapeutic groups: ask your district about student-support funding and, when appropriate, IEP-related services.

View the school funding guide

New Hampshire · Massachusetts · Maine · Federal resources
Includes eligibility notes, official links, and sample request language.

Let’s talk about Spark for your school.

Share your goals and the group you have in mind.

Discuss a Spark partnership