Outdoor Therapy

A free counselling service for young people and adults combining the benefits of spending time in nature and professional therapy.

Venture Trust’s Outdoor Therapy service

The service aims to support people by combining the full range of benefits from time in nature and the outdoors with professional therapy to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Outdoor Therapy is delivered in urban outdoor and green spaces such as parks, community gardens, woodlands, beaches or local hills. It can help people gain perspective and reflect on past or current life events that are troubling. Metaphors offered by nature may develop into insight on feelings, relationships and experiences.

Individuals access greenspaces and experience the grounding benefits of nature, which clears a busy mind and brings feelings of calm and stability for people who regularly experience high levels of stress and chaos at home. In this way nature offers an opportunity for reflection that can be utilised within therapy practice.

This will be delivered by our team of dedicated and qualified therapists, including trainee therapists where appropriate. For many people, outdoor therapy may be more suitable than traditional therapeutic settings. Participants can connect with nature in their local areas building a connection to place and community. Our team have specialist knowledge and are experienced in working outdoors with the issues facing our clients.

These include, but are not limited to: 

poor mental health and emotional wellbeing

violence and aggression

depression

relationship and family difficulties

anxiety and stress

grief and trauma

loneliness and social isolation

problem substance use

We believe in the child's right to express their opinions and be listened to.

Read our Children's Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment here.

Note: Venture Trust does not currently work with registered sex offenders or those subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).

Learn More about our Outdoor Therapy Training Courses

Key information Impact What to expect How to refer

Key information

East & Central

Locations:  Fife.

Age range:   Young People (10-24) (Or, up to 26 if care-experienced).

Wait time: 3-6 months.

West

Due to the length of our current waiting list we have had to temporarily pause accepting referrals from the West of Scotland. We hope to be able to re-open later in 2025.

Who outdoor therapy is for: It may be particularly appropriate for people who have sought support through traditional statutory therapeutic services (GP’s; CAMHS/community psychiatric services; other counselling; psychotherapy; CBT etc.) but have not been able to make the changes they were hoping for or were unable to gain access to services.

This is not a crisis service. If someone is suffering from an acute mental health crisis, please read Our Immediate Help guide for advice on how best to seek immediate support.

Impact

Outcomes of therapeutic intervention are highly individualised, however some expected results for this kind of intervention include:

Reduced intrapersonal distress – e.g., anxiety, depression.
Improved interpersonal relationships – e.g., interaction with family and friends, communication.
Reduced social problems – e.g., antisocial behaviours.
Improved behavioural function – e.g., handling frustration, impulsivity.

What to expect

Referral stage: may take 3-6 months

There will be an initial consultation with a Venture Trust therapist by phone or video-call.
The participant will discuss their situation and get a sense of who we are and what they might gain from attending.
If both participant and therapist agree that Outdoor Therapy would be appropriate a dedicated therapist is allocated and a first session planned.

If we are operating a waiting list, we will inform the referral as soon as possible of the expected timescales.

Outdoor Therapy delivery:

12 weekly Outdoor Therapy sessions (50 mins) are offered initially. Sessions will be delivered year-round and in a range of weather conditions, so access to suitably warm/waterproof clothing and footwear is helpful, but not essential. During extreme weather, the session will revert to online/phone.
Locations for sessions will be agreed at a suitable outdoor space with the participant.
As a part of the service, participants may be offered the chance to take part in group sessions alongside individual work.
Occasional indoor or online sessions will be used if the weather is poor.

How to refer

We are only accepting referrals from Fife at this time. We hope to review the situation as the year goes on.

If you have questions about outdoor therapy or want to find out more about this service for yourself or a potential referral, please contact: therapy@venturetrust.org.uk

To make a referral, please follow the link to complete our referral form: Make an Outdoor Therapy Referral

Venture Trust’s client management system uses SSL encryption to secure all data transfers. This encryption is end-to-end, meaning that your data is encrypted from the instant you submit it. There is no point at which the plain text of your data is accessible to third parties. Submitted data is held on our secure servers, which can only be accessed by authorised staff via password protection. SSL encryption is the internet standard for secure transfer of information, used by banks, credit card companies and statutory authorities.

If your policies require you to use secure email systems, you can do so using the email addresses below.

Venture Trust Hub	Area	Hub Coordinator Contact Details
Outdoor Therapy	Fife	therapy@venturetrust.org.uk

A free counselling service for young people and adults combining the benefits of spending time in nature and professional therapy.

Venture Trust’s Outdoor Therapy service

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