The Outdoor Wellness Adventure is the foundation of the program’s success. Through shared survival, challenges, and accomplishments, participants build deep trust, creating a system of vulnerability and accountability. This camaraderie drives commitment, ensuring they show up physically and mentally, not just for themselves, but for those they’ve come to care about. As a result, over 90% of participants complete the full 14-week journey, overcoming every challenge to earn their graduation certificate.

After the outdoor wellness adventure, the journey continues for 13 weeks, training the brain and body to experience emotions in a healthy way. Three times a week, we meet as a trusted team for guided sessions focused on practicing behaviors that naturally boost key neurotransmitters. When we’re deficient in these chemicals, we experience anxiety, depression, and disconnection, among other difficulties. By learning behaviors that increase oxytocin for trust and connection, serotonin for a stable mood, and dopamine for motivation and joy, we can maximize our ability to experience life at its best. Sitting together with the 23V Recon Playbook, we engage in 30-minute discussions followed by impactful homework designed to build resilience, strengthen well-being, and create lasting habits for happiness. We also focus on mindfulness, managing emotions, and improving communication.

To prepare the brain for learning, each session begins with a 60-minute workout led by a coach. While this isn’t a fitness program, movement is a powerful tool for mental growth. Exercise releases BDNF (along with other important acetylcholines), which strengthens memory and learning, making it easier to absorb and apply the lessons and behaviors that follow. It also sharpens focus and mental clarity, creating the ideal state for personal growth. By combining movement with guided discussions and actionable homework, we rewire the brain to experience life with more clarity, connection, and fulfillment.

Trauma recovery is a two-step process: first, exhausting the trauma through thought exposure, and second, reassociating fear with safety. Many therapies focus only on trauma exhaustion, but 23V Recon prioritizes the critical fear reassociation step.

With our trusted team, we intentionally experience common negative triggers from service, but in a safe and positive environment. This process teaches the brain to rewire old fear responses, replacing anxiety and panic with new, positive associations. Through semi-weekly community experience events, participants gradually reclaim spaces that once felt overwhelming. Graduates who once avoided public places now enjoy outings with their families, confidently visiting restaurants, malls, and community events, even celebrating Halloween by trick-or-treating with their children. Others, who once struggled with crowds, now enjoy pushing strollers through busy malls and environments, experiencing those spaces with ease and comfort.