AEE-OBH Accreditation

AEE-OBH Accreditation is a voluntary credentialing program for outdoor behavioral healthcare providers through the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). However, accreditation, is an expectation of all member programs for the OBH Council. OBH Council member programs are required to receive accreditation within two years of becoming a OBH Council member program, and must maintain their accreditation each year by submitting their annual review to the AEE Director of Accreditation and Standards and renewing full accreditation every three years, or as directed by AEE.

AEE-OBH Accreditation History

In 2013, the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council invited the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) to jointly embark upon the expansion of AEE’s existing standards to better reflect the field of wilderness therapy’s current practices.

Among the various accrediting bodies available to partner with, AEE stood out as the best option because of its long-standing reputation in the field of experiential and adventure education, including more than 25 years experience accrediting programs in the field.

The AEE-OBH Council partnership created a detailed set of ethical, risk management, and treatment standards created by longstanding leaders in OBH, adventure therapy, and wilderness programming.

Independent Accreditation

Lastly, the OBH Council believes that it's essential to have AEE own and manage this accreditation independent from the Council. This ensures a level of separation and accountability that is necessary for the integrity of accreditation.

Benefits for families considering an OBH program

• AEE-OBH Accreditation provides impartial validation that the program meets or exceeds standards that have been developed exclusively for outdoor behavioral healthcare programs.
• AEE-OBH Accredited programs have demonstrated that they operate above industry standards of ethical care, treatment evaluation, and risk-management practices.
• AEE-OBH Accreditation is solid evidence of a program’s commitment to quality and adherence to professional standards.

Benefits for programs that attain AEE-OBH Accreditation

• Gain valuable insight and perspective from leaders in outdoor behavioral healthcare
• Improve all aspects of the program through rigorous internal and impartial external review
• Distinguishing the program in a growing field

The newly designed OBH-accreditation from AEE represents another milestone in a rapidly evolving field. AEE-OBH accreditation will become the standard by which all future wilderness and outdoor adventure treatment programs will be measured.

It is expected and required that all OBH Council member programs hold the AEE-OBH Accreditation within two years of the start of their membership.