The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week 10). Followup support is offered as appropriate for the client's needs. Wilderness-adventure therapy is provided 1 day per week and during two 4-5 day expeditions, and is integrated into other components of the program such as work experience, drama, music, sex education, and group and individual therapies. Wilderness adventure therapy provides a challenging and novel situation that forces clients to relate to others in an adaptive way, allowing for a natural "reconstruction" of developmental gaps as clients correct fundamental assumptions and misconceptions about themselves and others. Based on client need, different and complimentary therapeutic approaches may be employed within the adventure experience, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic interventions, systemic interventions, and occupational therapy. Evaluation information shows significant reductions in general psychopathology and improvements in self-esteem, educational outcomes, social adjustment, school adjustment, and family issues. Five tables depict developmental tasks of adolescence, etiology of adolescent mental health problems, problem frequency of BIP clients, developmental diagnostic formulation, and program components. Three case vignettes are included. (Contains 10 references.) (TD)