This practitioner training course works with people from a diverse experience and qualification base, builds on existing knowledge and skills, and helps consolidate foundational values, ethics and competencies. It supports practitioners to develop or consolidate their Outdoor & Adventure Therapy Practice Framework and ready them to provide therapeutic experiences outdoors for people from all walks of life. The immersion and training program are grounded in Aboriginal ways of relating with Country, co-facilitated by aboriginal mentors and open to ongoing cultural input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants.

It is designed for trained Psychologists, Therapists, Counsellors, other health professionals; trained outdoor educators or adventure leaders; and people interested in working therapeutically with others, outdoors or on-country. Participants are invited to bring their skills, knowledge and experience, along with an openness to not-knowing and unlearning. The course aims to create a safe space for collaborative, cross-disciplinary integration of practice skill, knowledge and experience.

OVERVIEW

This course provides an online and experiential introduction to Outdoor & Adventure Therapy for trained counsellors, psychologists, social workers, outdoor educators, adventure leaders, and cultural practitioners. It is a cross-disciplinary training program, offering a progression of knowledge and skills, practical experiences, and opportunities to develop therapeutic practice in a supportive environment. Aboriginal cultural leaders and participants will help to ground us in Country and guide our learnings.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

A lead-in Information session, Individual planning session, and 2 x online group sessions will prepare us to make the most of our 4 days together. The 4-day immersion includes cultural grounding, experiential learning, and reflective processes to build confidence and skills in working therapeutically with individuals and groups, in and with nature. Follow-on sessions translate lessons learned into a personal Outdoor & Adventure Therapy Practice Framework. Supervision supports the establishment of effective practices in your chosen context.

This is a cross-disciplinary course. We look forward to rich cross-fertilisation.

COURSE FACILITATORS

This introductory course has been collaborative designed by a cross-disciplinary team of trained outdoor and adventure therapists, and Aboriginal cultural practitioners.

TEN CORE MODULES

The course traverses 10 core modules:

• Trauma-informed ways of being
• Living values  & ethics
• Humans as nature
• Experiencing BPSCE dimensions 
• Supporting reflexive practices
• Decolonising practices
• Outdoor & adventure therapy in action
• Facilitating therapeutic groups outdoors
• Micro-counselling skills outdoors
• Safety & risk

All participants will benefit from having completed a First aid course, a Psychological first aid course and Cultural Awareness Training (or equivalent) prior to commencement of this Foundational course.

Certificate of Competency Extension Course

To attain this certificate, people will have participated in all aspects of the training course and satisfactorily submitted the following assessment tasks:  

• Facilitator Feedback of participation in the training immersion;  
• Peer Review of participation in the immersion;  
• Character Reference;  
• Completion of 2 Site Risk Assessments;  
• Completion of 1 Session Plan for individuals & 1 Session Plan for a group;
• Completed a virtual (verbal and visual) video-recorded run-through of a Session plan; 
• Submitted a personal ‘Acknowledgement of Country’ for review by our cultural mentor; and, 
• Completion of a personal ‘Outdoor Therapy Practice Portfolio’.  

The bearer would have also met the following external requirements by providing evidence of: 

• Participation in Cultural Awareness Training;  
• Current First Aid Certification (minimum workplace first aid + CPR);  
• Current ‘Working with Children’ or ‘Working with Vulnerable People’ Registration;  
• Holding a National Police Check issued within the last 12 months; and,  
• Current membership of the Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy.