Abstract
This article reviews an outdoor group intervention program for inner-city adolescents. The Cat Rock Gang is a counter gang—a pro-social group in which teenagers can meet their developmental needs for a sense of connection, belonging, self-definition and opportunities for excitement and mastery. In the past ten years over 150 teenagers from New York City have enthusiastically participated. The medium through which the group's goals are reached is adventure-based challenges such as hiking, camping, rope courses, skiing and sailing. The results of this program of therapeutic growth are discussed within the context of adolescent development and the risks teenagers are exposed to growing up in the inner-city.
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Harris, M.W., Fried, K.L. & Arana, J. The counter-gang: A program of therapeutic growth for New York City youth. J Child Adolesc Group Ther 5, 201–213 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02548973
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02548973