While the recent roots of adventure therapy can be said to have germinated in the last 50-100 years, it is acknowledged that Indigenous and place-based peoples have been using similar practices and processes for millennia. The contemporary International Adventure Therapy (IAT) network can be directly linked back to the early 1980s and 1990s, with the inaugural International Adventure Therapy Conference held in Australia in 1997 (1IATC). Since that time, the international adventure therapy community has included a diverse range of practitioners, including therapists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, therapeutic facilitators, experiential educators, adventure educators, outdoor leaders, researchers, students, and interested individuals. 

Since the conception of this, there has been a huge development in our understanding and use of the term Adventure Therapy. (add some clarity to how it has been used broadly to include nature-based therapies, but we’re now adding it to ensure clarity - adventure and nature-based therapies.

Since the 1IATC in 1997, our international community has met every 3 years in different nations around the world: 2IATC Germany (2000), 3IATC Canada (2003), 4IATC New Zealand (2006), 5IATC United Kingdom (Scotland) (2009), 6IATC Czech Republic (2012), 7IATC USA (2015), 8IATC Australia (2018), 9IATC Norway (2022) and 10IATC in Taiwan (2025). Our triennial international gatherings have evolved into a cornerstone for the global adventure and nature-based therapy community, offering a global platform for exchange, learning, and collaboration for adventure practitioners and researchers. 

The Adventure Therapy International Committee (ATIC) was established in 2006 in New Zealand (4IATC) as an informal representative network, to support the global community. ATIC’s main purpose was originally to support triennial conferences and the growing community, enhancing connections across continents. Over the decades, 2-4 Chairs have led the network for 3 year terms, supported by a small number of highly dedicated volunteer members. Given the volunteer and unfunded nature of our network, the productivity and progress made by ATIC has naturally ebbed and flowed over time. As new nations have joined conferences and the international community, 

ATIC has grown to include more national representatives. At the 9IATC, ATIC members represented 42 different nations, representing a start to international discussion and cross-fertilisation, though limited to attendees predominantly from English-speaking countries in the global north This reflects a need for ATIC to re-vitalise its approaches to collaborate with the wider community.

Since its inception, ATIC has been guided by practice wisdom, research-based evidence, and collective understandings, enabling practitioners and researchers to exchange practices and learn from each other. ATIC’s current vision is to promote collaboration, research, and development of adventure therapy therapy practices globally, through strong cross-cultural connections. There have been documented edited publications following each conference to benefit this research and evidence-based practice.

The ATIC ‘Entity’ Working Group’ was established in Norway in 2022, 9IATC. In this document, the Entity Working Group proposes that ATIC transitions to become a formal international federation called the International Federation for Adventure and Nature-Based Therapies . The proposed new entity will strive to continue the Adventure Therapy International Conference’s role and purpose and to build a stronger, wider, representative diverse community with a stronger voice across areas of practice, increasing representation

In the English language, the term ‘Adventure Therapy’ is grounded in two key concepts: ‘adventure’ and ‘therapy.’ Derived from Latin and Greek etymology respectively, ‘Adventure’ encapsulates ‘a movement towards’ growth, healing, and wellbeing, and includes challenges of body, mind, relationships, and spirit. The ancient roots of ‘Therapy’ centre on the act and art of ‘attending to’, with the ‘Therapist’ an ‘attendant’. From this perspective, adventure therapists attend to struggles of body, mind, relationships, or spirit. The term Adventure Therapy ‘practitioner’ can be useful for describing therapeutic facilitators and educators who are not trained and registered Therapists, but who nevertheless provide adventure therapy services, usually in partnership with registered Therapists. ATIC strives to be inclusive of all cultures, identities, disciplines and experiences, whilst maintaining an expectation of bio-psychosocial safety for participants and practitioners alike, simultaneously acknowledging that work must be done to dismantle oppressive barriers that prevent participation from many international practitioners.

While a specific definition is yet to be agreed by ATIC, it is generally understood that Adventure Therapy includes the practical professional application of intentional, evidence-informed processes that attend to healing and growth through purposeful interventions, often provided in outdoor/natural environments. From a shortlist of terms provided in a brief ATIC Online Survey in 2024, more ATIC members chose Adventure and Nature-based Therapies  as their preferred term for our sector. As such, ANT encompasses a diverse range of professional practices, practitioners, organisations, academic institutions and public and private services around the world that support health, wellbeing and healing through immersive active outdoor and adventurous experiences. To better reflect the intentional nature-centred, and culturally-expansive practices within the field, we propose the term Adventure and Nature-based Therapies (ANT) as a renewed and inclusive evolution of the way that the term adventure therapy has previously been used by the Adventure Therapy International Conference.

Rationale

The global need for nature-based health, wellbeing, and healing practices is growing rapidly. The rise in physical, mental, and social ill-health calls for innovative solutions that promote individual and community wellbeing, while also ensuring environmental sustainability. Increasingly, climate change and biodiversity loss are exacerbating human mental health challenges, with individuals and communities facing eco-anxiety, displacement, and the impacts of extreme weather events. While IAANT does not aim to solve climate change, it seeks to address one of its most profound consequences, mental health distress, by providing therapeutic experiences in natural settings. ANT have been shown to foster resilience, emotional regulation, and psychological, and eudaimonic wellbeing, offering an essential antidote to the rising burden of climate-related stress. IAANT seeks to deepen the connection between people and nature, concurrently promoting the wellbeing of humans, all beings, and the planet.

In response to these pressing needs, IAANT aims to unite professionals worldwide who are dedicated to transformative nature-based and nature-inclusive therapeutic practices. IAANT will strive to serve as a global community of practice, bringing together professional knowledge, strengthening ethical standards, and advocating for policy changes to support adventure and nature-based therapies.

At its core, IAANT champions collegial relationships, encouraging collaboration and constructive peer learning among professionals. The organisation prioritises representative decision-making, ensuring that diverse international and intercultural perspectives shape its governance. With funding, IAANT will be better able to support social and economic equity within the global community, and enable more service delivery in socio-economically disadvantaged regions. In time, IAANT will be able to engage in policy advocacy to promote the wellbeing of people and the planet, reinforcing a sustainable and inclusive future.