Abstract
Different forms of eco-therapeutic interventions have positively
impacted the physical, psychological and social wellbeing status of
service users across a range of age groups. However, there has been
little evidence exploring the experience and perceived impact of an
ecotherapy program for adolescents in the UK. This study explored
perceptions of adolescents and their parents of an ecotherapy program targeting improved mental health and wellbeing. This study
involved semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents. Interviews took place shortly after the program ended (adolescents and parents) and six weeks after (adolescents only). Interviews
from the two groups were initially analyzed separately before being
triangulated. Eight adolescents and seven parents were interviewed in
total. Three themes were generated: building connections, learning
and exposure, and comparing and constructing with prior services
accessed. Perceived improvements across adolescents included
reduced negative emotions and anxiety, and greater self-esteem, confidence, and social skills. For the latter theme, there were reported
distinctive experiences of attending this ecotherapy program compared with professional mental health support services. Exploring
nature brought adolescents together with benefits of engaging in
support services that varied from the norm. Future research should
examine the feasibility of using ecotherapy as an alternative treatment
to traditional therapy in supporting mental health, and evaluate the
economic viability of such a program for non-clinical support
provision.
impacted the physical, psychological and social wellbeing status of
service users across a range of age groups. However, there has been
little evidence exploring the experience and perceived impact of an
ecotherapy program for adolescents in the UK. This study explored
perceptions of adolescents and their parents of an ecotherapy program targeting improved mental health and wellbeing. This study
involved semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents. Interviews took place shortly after the program ended (adolescents and parents) and six weeks after (adolescents only). Interviews
from the two groups were initially analyzed separately before being
triangulated. Eight adolescents and seven parents were interviewed in
total. Three themes were generated: building connections, learning
and exposure, and comparing and constructing with prior services
accessed. Perceived improvements across adolescents included
reduced negative emotions and anxiety, and greater self-esteem, confidence, and social skills. For the latter theme, there were reported
distinctive experiences of attending this ecotherapy program compared with professional mental health support services. Exploring
nature brought adolescents together with benefits of engaging in
support services that varied from the norm. Future research should
examine the feasibility of using ecotherapy as an alternative treatment
to traditional therapy in supporting mental health, and evaluate the
economic viability of such a program for non-clinical support
provision.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 451-467 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Creativity in Mental Health |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 6 Oct 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The termson which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Funder
Pilot delivery of the program was funded by the Positive Choices Young People’s service which forms part of Change Grow Live.Funding
Pilot delivery of the program was funded by the Positive Choices Young People’s service which forms part of Change Grow Live.
Keywords
- Adolescents
- ecotherapy
- mental health and wellbeing
- qualitative
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
