Nevin Harper, Ph.D., University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Nevin will share outdoor therapy approaches and theories for the non-therapist. The realities of nature and activity for health, development, and wellbeing are well established. We do not have to be therapists to provide meaningful and healing experiences for those we serve. This talk aims to inspire outdoor recreation practitioners to consider their roles in healthier human nature relationships. Nevin is a researcher, writer and practitioner of outdoor therapies. As an associate professor in the school of child and youth care at the University of Victoria, Dr. Harper teaches practice courses such as group skills, counseling ethics, and supervises student practicums in the field. Nevin co-authored Nature-based Therapy and works alongside his co-authors at Human Nature Counseling on Vancouver Island. More recently he co-edited Outdoor Therapies, a collection of chapters on a wide range of outdoor approaches to health, healing and wellness.

This session was an ‘In-the-thicket’ style webinar.  It looked at how we can encourage learners to take risks, and how this can be beneficial to their mental health. Taking risks and risky play are key elements of the Forest School ethos, and cultivating this can be a challenge, particularly in the perceptions of some less-informed onlookers.  We also spoke about how we can encourage risky play? And had an interesting discussion around Gender and risk? And explored how do we communicate its benefits to others?

Forest Therapy Institute Symposium talk given in Spring 2020 on nature-based therapy.

This month Nevin Harper will briefly cover the rationale for the book, "Nature-Based Therapy: A Practitioner’s Guide to Working Outdoors with Children, Youth, and Families." Dr. Nevin Harper is an associate professor in the School of Child & Youth Care at the University of Victoria, founder of the Canadian Adventure Therapy Symposium.