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.

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

Certificate of Competency

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.