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Keynote Speakers and Panel Debate
The conference keynotes reflect the wide ranging of international perspectives, and aim to facilitate debate and development in adventure therapy provisions across the world. The following keynote speakers and abstracts are confirmed:
Weclome Opening Keynotes:
Thinking about adventure therapy as a profession: Issues of professionalisation
Sally Aldridge (BACP, Head of Regulatory Policy)
Abstract
1. Tight boundaries and therefore exclusion – the clinical psychologists – entry by a fixed and small number of National Health Service (NHS) funded professional doctorates, the British Psychoanalytic Council entry through a limited number of training courses. Health Professionals Council (HPC) entry by approved qualifications.
2. Inclusive – entry very open, internal hierarchy of individual accreditation
The second is represented by the caring professions, predominantly female, often part time and often found in workplace subservience to the professions exemplified in 1 above.
A Landscape of Re-creation? Aspects of human - nature relations in the UK:
reflections on some historical influences from a therapeutic perspective.
reflections on some historical influences from a therapeutic perspective.
By Dr Chris Loynes
University of Cumbria
University of Cumbria
This presentation reviews aspects of the influence of history and culture on the British relationship with nature. Six themes of possible interest to therapeutic concerns are highlighted. These are:
• The valuing of new places as places of freedom and possibility;
• The attempts to gain dominion over nature;
• The rise of the cult of the hero;
• The emergence of recreation and the recreation movements;
• The romantics and the idea of transformation;
• Power in human and human to nature relations.
The development of outdoor education during the twentieth century is then summarised. It is suggested that nature became an instrument of education in the pursuit of the social goals of the times. Four further themes are identified from this history of Outdoor Education that may shed light on the values that can underpin outdoor therapeutic work. These are summarised as:
• What have I got to give to society?
• What can I take from society?
• How do I join in?
• How do I manage the risks of modern life?
The presentation concludes by expressing concerns about the instrumentalisation of nature in all these social projects. However, it ends on a note of hope with a reference to new trends that can be understood as challenging long held norms of human nature relations in the UK.
It is also an opportunity to cram in as many images of the British land and seascape as possible!
Keynotes
Exploring an emergent dualism in adventure therapy practice
Keith Russell, Associate Professor (Western Washington University, USA)
Keith Russell, Associate Professor (Western Washington University, USA)
Abstract:
This presentation will argue that the “body” of adventure therapy (AT) may be in contrast to its “soul” reflecting an inherent dualism in the field. In North America, the body of AT, manifest in theory, research and current practice, appears to be moving towards validation and acceptance by mainstream behavioural and mental health service delivery systems. Whether this is in reaction to increased public and governmental oversight or due to other causes, the end result seems to be a focus on research, best practices, licensure, and accreditation of AT programs and practitioners. Concurrent with this movement is the growing perception by many that the very essence of AT is being lost in this process, and subsequently that AT is in danger of losing its “soul.” This inherent dualism in AT practice seems to be present in discussions heard at conferences, on listserves, and in the literature, and has deep roots embedded in the soil of debate on whether mountains do indeed speak for themselves. Does movement toward licensure, restrictive accreditation standards, and documented risk management practices, move AT farther and farther away from that which makes it special and unique? And consequently, are we losing the opportunity to better understand the core elements of AT that make it truly unique? The goal of this talk will be to examine this proposed dualism in AT and pose questions that may guide discourse on the future of potential theory development, research and practice in international adventure therapy. Questions asked include: Do we think AT currently divided into two competing paradigms? Is that a good or bad trend? Can a middle ground be tolerated? Why or why not?
Two areas relevant to AT practice will be presented in hopes of providing context for the discussion. First, a review of research will attempt to address the most fundamental questions of AT practice: Does it work, why, and for whom? What does the research tell us? Second, current trends in behavioural and mental healthcare delivery systems being practiced in North America will be presented in order to begin thinking about how these may impact AT practice. Some of these trends include how organizations are incorporating AT practice: a) in working with First Nation, Aboriginal or Native American peoples, b) treating substance abusing youth and young adults, c) as a prevention tool to promote physical activity and exposure to nature.
About the Author:
Keith C. Russell, associate professor in Recreation and Outdoor Education, specializes in research that examines the social and psychological dimensions of developmental programming in natural, and primarily, wilderness environments. He has been a wilderness educator for more than twenty years in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and New Zealand, specializing in expedition leadership in paddling sports, especially sea kayaking and whitewater paddling. Dr. Russell’s publications focus on the design, implementation and evaluation of educational and therapeutic programs for youth. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, the Journal of Groups in Addictions and Recovery, Child and Youth Care Forum, the International Journal of Wilderness, the Journal of Experiential Education, and the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. Results from his work are routinely communicated to a wide array of academicians, mental health professionals, and federal and state agencies.
Opening doors in mainstream therapy: a collaborative pluralistic perspective on outdoor therapy
Professor John McLeod (Tayside Institute for Health Studies, University of Abertay Dundee, UK)
Abstract:
The collaborative pluralistic framework for the practice of counselling and psychotherapy is an integrative approach which calls for the therapist and client to work together to develop a shared understanding, and identify therapeutic tasks and methods, relevant to the achievement of the client’s goals. One of the basic principles of this perspective is that there exist a wide range of activities that may be of therapeutic value in accomplishing therapy tasks. These activities can include not only well-established therapeutic techniques, but also a diversity of cultural resources that open up possibilities for learning and change. From a pluralistic perspective, outdoor therapies potentially have a major role to play in successful therapy with clients. In the community counselling agency where I work, almost none of the clients who we see have any significant involvement in outdoor activity. However, even when it may be apparent to both client and therapist that such involvement would have therapeutic value, it seems almost impossible to find ways to make it happen. In this paper, I would like to explore some of the issues and challenges that confront mainstream, office-based counsellors and psychotherapists who are interested in integrating an outdoor dimension into their work with clients, in the form of adventure therapy, wilderness therapy, Nature Therapy, horticultural therapies, or similar approaches. These issues include: (a) knowing what is available for clients, and developing collaborative referral networks; (b) participating in relevant training, to develop an awareness and appreciation of what is involved in different outdoor modalities; (c) being able to access theoretical analysis and research evidence on the processes and outcomes of different type of outdoor therapeutic provision, in order to make informed decisions about what types of outdoor activity might be most relevant for each individual client. Suggestions are made around how these issues might be resolved. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the probable increasing importance of nature-based therapies at a period when the threat and reality of global environmental destruction will inevitably begin to shape the emotional and behaviour change agenda of clients entering therapy.
About the author:
John McLeod is Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay Dundee. He is author of An Introduction to Counselling (4th edition, Open University Press, 2009), Counselling Skills (Open University Press, 2007), Doing Counselling Research (2nd edn., Sage, 2003), Qualitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Sage, 2001), Narrative and Psychotherapy (Sage, 1997) and articles and chapters on a wide range of topics in the field of counselling and psychotherapy. His current projects include the development of a collaborative pluralistic framework for counselling practice, and the use of case study methods in counselling and psychotherapy research. He is also interested in the potentially therapeutic role of the relationship between people and the natrual environment in which they live.
Exploring what makes the difference in adventure therapy practice
Paddy Pawson, Community Leader AT (Waipuna Trust, Aotearoa/New Zealand)
Abstract:
Based on many years as a practitioner in adventure therapy, this keynote will examine the processes that seem to make a real difference for those taking part in adventure therapy interventions. It will argue that it is not what we do in adventure therapy that is important, but rather it is how we do it that makes the real difference. Drawing upon the stories of young people who have experienced adventure therapy interventions in New Zealand, this keynote will illustrate adventure therapy in action, and in doing so it will consider practical ways of how to best work in this setting. The keynote will also examine how adventure therapy practices can give meaning to the past, experience aroha in the present and allow hope into the future. And in conclusion, it will explore how we understand dependence, independence and interdependence, and how these understandings translate to processes of change in adventure therapy.
About the Author
For the last 25 years Paddy Pawson has worked with young people in various capacities and across a wide area of needs. For the last 10 years he has worked for, and with, Waipuna Youth and Community Trust in New Zealand, developing and delivering adventure therapy programmes. He is currently working in a development role in adventure therapy in New Zealand, utilising his experience gained in Adventure therapy at Waipuna to look at ways of working with various communities that surround adventure therapy. This has seen him present and run a range of adventure therapy workshops in the health, justice and education fields, along with Pakeha, Maori and Pacific communities.
Devoured by a mountain lion: original nature and the social ecology of adventure therapy
Julian Norris (Director of Innovation and Development for Outward Bound Canada)
Abstract:
The nature of our work in supporting transition, healing and development is both deeply personal and inherently systemic. This keynote, inspired by a compelling encounter in the natural world, will explore four propositions related to this reality within Adventure Therapy practice, and as it pertains to our future development as a field and our relevance in these extraordinary times:
• Proposition One: Our own state of being as practitioners is a critical mediating variable in our field. Who we are is the foundation upon which our practice rests. How might we begin to support the emergence of a generation of practitioners who are both ‘professional’ and ‘awakened’?
• Proposition Two: The lasting personal change outcomes sought by Adventure Therapy practitioners are generally inseparable from the systems within which our ‘clients’ dwell. Our theoretical and practice models – right the way from diagnosis to follow-up – must shift to reflect this reality.
• Proposition Three: The future evolution of Adventure Therapy lies in being able to go both ‘deeper’ and ‘broader’. Deeper in the sense that we become more effective and sophisticated in supporting individual therapeutic outcomes. Broader in the sense that the best work in our field is likely to emerge in the context of cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral and cross-cultural partnerships.
• Proposition Four: Nature remains the greatest healer and teacher. Perhaps our most significant contribution in these times is that we offer an ecologically and experientially grounded approach to human development and wellness. In a sense, our role is to become servants of nature as we weave compelling contexts within which people can connect with and embrace their own creative intelligence and natural resilience.
About the Author
Born and raised in Britain, Julian Norris is Director of Innovation and Development for Outward Bound Canada. He has an eclectic background working with at-risk youth and existentially-challenged adults, with Indigenous education movements, with community and organizational change processes and a variety of international development contexts. In addition to overseeing Outward Bound schools in Western Canada, Julian is the researcher-in-residence at the Banff Centre and is an Associate with the International Institute for Child Rights and Development at the University of Victoria. Two decades leading therapeutic, developmental and growth-oriented wilderness programs have left him with the usual assortment of scars, professional certificates and tall tales, as well as a deep and abiding curiosity about the topic of his recently completed PhD - using nature-based approaches to facilitate and link profound personal transformation and systemic change.
'In wilderness - therapy - lies the preservation of the world'
This keynote slot will consist of the following 3 keynote presentations which will raise enviornmental agendas as related to working theraputically outdoors
Why we all need outdoor and nature-based therapy: climate change, values-change and consumerism
Dr Kate Rawles (Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Studies, University of Cumbria, UK)
Abstract:
The primary recipients of nature-based therapies are people judged to be in need of some kind of therapeutic intervention. I will argue that, in industrialised 'modern' cultures, therapeutic intervention is also urgently required for the majority of citizens who would not normally be considered to fall into this category. Industrialised lifestyles require ever increasing resource consumption and create ever increasing levels of pollution, on a planet that has ecological limits. Global climate change and catastrophic levels of biodiversity loss are amongst the impacts of these lifestyles, even though they are currently only enjoyed by a minority of the global human population. As the World Wildlife Fund powerfully expressed it, if everyone on earth lived the lifestyle of an average Western European, we would need three planet earths. Modern lifestyles are profoundly unsustainable, and the ecological systems, species and other living beings that make up 'nature' are under severe threat from the 'normal' behaviour of most industrialised citizens - including outdoor therapists!
While there has been some engagement with the role of therapy in helping people deal with the grief and pain caused by climate change and other forms of environmental devastation there is, potentially,a much wider role in helping to prevent or at least mitigate these phenomena that has received less attention. All of us at this conference are consumers; we almost all consume more than a sustainable and equitable share of the planet's resources; and we almost all find it very hard to consume significantly less - even in the light of overwhelming scientific evidence about its consequences. Scientific understanding alone is often not sufficient for action. We need other kinds of engagement and understanding, with particular regard to the links between self-esteem, self-worth, identity, status and material possessions. It is my claim that nature-based therapies in general and 'wilderness' therapies in particular have the potential to be especially potent in this context.
About the author
Dr Kate Rawles was a lecturer in environmental philosophy at Lancaster University for nine years before escaping to go free-lance in 2000. In 2002 she was awarded a NESTA fellowship to develop Outdoor Philosophy - short courses that combine critical thinking about environmental issues with the power of wild places in order to inspire a commitment to more sustainable ways of living and working. She now works half-time as a senior lecturer in Outdoor Studies, University of Cumbria, Ambleside; and half-time as a freelance outdoor philosopher, writer and consultant on environmental issues, ethics, values, animal welfare and sustainable development. She works with Jonathon Porritt and Forum for the Future as Academic Director for their innovative 'Reconnections' programme, developing courses on values and sustainable development for business leaders, as well as teaching on Forum's MSc in Leadership for Sustainable Development. She has also worked for Schumacher College teaching Earth Ethics, Surrey University teaching ethics and values (MSc Sustainable Development), Lancaster and University of Central Lancashire Universities leading field trips to the island of Rum to explore the philosophy of nature conservation (MA Values and the Environment) and Nirex UK advising on ethical aspects of radioactive waste management, amongst others. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Arts and a council member of the Food Ethics Council. She has a particular focus on the need for change in values and worldviews, especially in the context of how we value nature, and has also developed a keen interest in climate change and the role of adventure in communicating environmental issues. Kate cycled from El Paso to Anchorage exploring American beliefs about climate change, and what we can learn from them, during the summer of 2006. This trip is now the basis of the Carbon Cycle slide show and a forthcoming book. Her publications include about a dozen book chapters and numerous articles ranging from academic journals to Resurgence and the Independent newspaper, as well as national and international conference presentations - the later on the wane due to a commitment to severely ration her flying for climate change reasons.
Troubling Adventure Therapy: constructing and consuming wilderness?
Dr Alette Willis and Professor Liz Bondi (School of Health in Social Science, The University of Edinburgh)
While we are supportive of the goals of Adventure Therapy to both facilitate the healing of people in "natural" settings and to heal human relationships to the more-than-human-world, we are troubled by the ways in which its concepts and practices may reify some of the western dualisms that underpin contemporary environmental problems. Like adventure therapists and their clients, we both find “wilderness" environments immensely sustaining and restorative; however, we recognise that such experiences are at least partially expressions of the cultural contexts in which we live. Without denying the existence and agency of non-human others and the therapeutic potential of being immersed in landscapes that have been altered less by human actions than say cities--where most of us now live--we wish to point out that "wilderness" itself is a human concept freighted with problematic values. Adventure Therapy tends to valorise and propagate a romantic view of wilderness as somehow untouched by humans, a keystone belief in the dualistic separation of nature and culture. We argue that these dualisms are problematic and ultimately counterproductive. The construction of some places as "wilderness" tends to devalue places that are not conventionally considered “wild” or “pristine”. These places, which encompass the majority of the globe, thereby become more vulnerable to damage, exploitation and carelessness. This radical separation of people’s everyday lives from valorised “nature” also fosters the commodification of “nature” in practices such as Adventure Therapy. In its alignment with counselling and other services designed to promote mental health and wellbeing, Adventure Therapy becomes part and parcel of a consumer society in which individuals attend to their personal needs and wants though the consumption of goods and services. "Wilderness" and "nature" are thereby enrolled into the very processes of consumption that its advocates often view as detrimental to the life of human beings and the world they inhabit. We conclude that if Adventure Therapy wishes to contribute to positive social change around environmental issues, it needs to take a critical approach to the concept of "wilderness" and seek ways in which relationships within and to other types of places might be supported.
About the authors
Dr Alette Willis is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Health in the Social Science. Her PhD--which she received from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada--explored environmental ethics and reading ecological memoirs from a narrative therapy perspective. Her current research concerns the role of stories (both oral and written) in aiding people to change towards, and maintain more sustainable lifestyles. She is a trained storyteller and a published short-story writer. Through her academic, creative and volunteer work she is committed to contributing to opening up possibilities for survivable futures for all.
Professor Liz Bondi began her academic career in human geography at the University of Edinburgh and in 2001 was awarded a Personal Chair in Social Geography. She trained as a counsellor in the mid/late 1990s and then began to conduct research about counselling collaboratively with colleagues in the then Centre for Counselling Studies at Moray House School of Education. In 2004 Counselling Studies moved to the School of Health in Social Science with Liz as Co-Director. She stood down from the Co-Directorship when she became Head of the School of Health in Social Science in January 2008. Liz is one of the founding editors of Emotion, Space and Society. Her research interests include emotional geographies, socio-spatial perspectives on counselling and psychotherapy; voluntary sector activism; gendered identities and subjectivities and qualitative methodologies
Really wild therapy: Exploring beyond the boundaries of the self
Nick Totton(Psychotherapist, trainer and author, UK)
Abstract:
‘Wild therapy’ here refers specifically to two themes: on the one hand psychotherapy in and through wilderness itself, including adventure therapy; and on the other hand a psychotherapy which sides with the spontaneous as much as the intentional and with the out-of-awareness as much as the conscious. This talk will link several highly current topics: the global environmental crisis, the movement of Western culture towards increased regulation and monitoring of many aspects of life (including psychotherapy), new neuroscience research on stress, relaxation, awareness and decision making, and new thinking about the complex relationship between human and other-than-human forms of existence. I focus on the terms ‘wild’ and ‘wilderness’, arguing that they identify key areas of contradiction in conventional Western thinking - ‘wild’ means both ‘free’ and ‘dangerous’, both ‘natural’ and ‘out of control’. The antithesis of ‘wild’ is ‘domesticated’; and in many ways civilisation is an ongoing process of human domestication, which has sown the seeds of its own destruction. At the same time, civilisation has plainly multiplied many times over the richness and complexity, as well as the comfort, of human existence. We don't need to idealise wildness over domestication, but to find a way of moving beyond the polarity itself. So I will be encouraging adventure therapists to consider the deeper and wider contexts of their work: its potential for helping people move away from a domesticated model of power over nature, and towards a positive valuation of self-regulation and spontaneity.
About the author
Nick is a therapist and trainer with over 25 years experience; originally a Reichian body therapist, his approach (which he calls Embodied-Relational Therapy) has become broad based and open to the spontaneous and unexpected. He has MA in Psychoanalytic Studies, and has worked with Process Oriented Psychology and trained as a craniosacral therapist. He has written/edited eleven books, including Body Psychotherapy: An Introduction; Psychotherapy and Politics; and Press When Illuminated: New and Selected Poems, and lead workshops, spoken and published on ecopsychological themes, especially on the link between embodiment and connectedness with the other-than-human. There is an extensive website about his work www.earthworks.co.uk. He lives in Calderdale with his partner , has a 23 year old daughter and grows vegetables.
Controversial and Critical Debates in Adventure Therapy – An International Panel Debate
Led by Dr Cathryn Carpenter (Australia) and Dr Christian M. Itin(USA) on behalf of the Adventure Therapy International Committee (ATIC)
As adventure therapy continues to grow and evolve across the world many controversial debates are posed in its international development. The first critical question centers around adventure therapy being an international field - does it want to be an international field? If so, there may be a need to develop and consolidate the field of adventure therapy, building a shared sense of identity, purpose, ethics and perhaps regulation, training and accreditation. Yet, adventure therapy is understood and practiced differently in each region of the world. Each culture has developed diverse ways of working with people within their landscape and country, to promote enhanced health and wellbeing. As each international region evolves their own unique approach to using adventure as a part of this work, adventure therapy appears to be defined differently. The second critical question centers around the possibility and or role of an international definition of adventure therapy, can an understanding of this practice be universally shared? Is adventure therapy a unifying theme or construct, and is this really what draws the profession together? This interactive debate will include a range of perspectives from practitioners and academics from around the world to challenge our understandings of what adventure therapy means now and help us in developing a framework for where the profession may head in the future.
A special feature, a 5IATC public lecture open to conference delegates and the public - sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University Faculty of Sport Development and Outdoor Education
5IATC General Public Lecture:
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Public.Lecture
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Meeting the mental health needs of children and adolescents: the role of adventure therapy
Professor Dene Berman (Wright State University/Lifespan Counselling Associates, USA) and Professor Jennifer Davis-Berman (University of Dayton, USA)
Abstract:
This keynote will begin by discussing the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Recent estimates of the one-year prevalence rate of psychiatric problems among this population are more than 20 percent. The U.S. Surgeon General has noted that there are not enough child psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers, while other estimates are that more than 80 of those in need go untreated. Adventure therapy provides a range of offerings from those adjunctive to traditional therapy to alternatives to traditional services. At the same time, some services are aimed at improving strengths while others at diminishing deficits. We review this continuum of care and give examples of the types of services that are offered in each. It is our contention that it is possible to match the needs of children and adolescents with the types of services offered within the scope of AT. Since the unmet needs of this population are so great, there is more than enough room for both traditional and AT services to operate using a collaborative rather than competitive model. The justifications for adopting alternatives to what is often referred to as Treatment as Usual (TAU) are presented. Factors such as safety, cost, and efficacy are critical in making such a determination. In determining efficacy we will look at two sets of criteria: Well-Established Treatments and Probably Efficacious Treatments. It is also likely that some therapies are effective but have not been sufficiently studied . Putting all of these threads together, we make recommendations for the future development of the Adventure Therapy field as a valuable approach to meeting the needs of children and adolescents.
About the Authors
Dene Berman, Ph.D., is a psychologist in practice with Lifespan Counseling Associates in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. A part of this practice is the Wilderness Therapy Program. Dene is also Clinical Professor at the School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University.
Jennifer Davis-Berman, Ph.D., a social worker, is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at the University of Dayton, in Ohio, USA.
They are the authors of The Promise of Wilderness Therapy.
This lecture will be open directly to conference delegates and the general public. If you are interested in attending this public lecture but are not a delegate of the conference please contact katy.hobday@bacp.co.uk for further information and to register your interest.
Please note that the above abstracts may change slightly in the final programme, however, the key themes to be discussed should all remain the same. Also, BACP can not be responsible for any keynote speaker who is unable, for whatever reason, to attend and present at the conference.