Adventure therapy

Adventure therapy or Nature therapy has multiple therapeutic benefits for body and mind. Through the experience itself in nature, emotional, behavioral and many other challenges are faced and overcome. Adventure Therapy,, is a form of experiential care that involves various types of outdoor activities, with the aim, for those who practice it, to develop life skills and improve their psychophysical health.

Numerous researches have shown that it is more bearable to deal with difficult and difficult emotions such as anxiety, loneliness, frustration, depression, when you are in contact with nature. In addition, spending time in nature has intrinsic therapeutic benefits: getting away from everyday stress, immersed in wild beauty, breathing pure air and listening to new noises. Contact with nature not only has positive implications on the psychological health of those who practice it, but it is a therapy particularly suitable for those suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, depression, obesity or heart disease.

The activities that can be practiced as Adventure Therapy are many such as, forest walks, camping, mountain hiking, rock climbing: the common factor is to allow participants to take calculated risks and explore personal problems in a safe environment in close contact with nature.

After the therapy session, you spend time reflecting: 

• what has been done, 

• the fears you have faced,

•  the connections you have made 

• the difficulties you have encountered with other participants, 

• what you have learned about yourself.

The distinctive elements that characterize Adventure Therapy compared to the multiple modalities of psychotherapeutic treatment are experiential learning, immersion and interaction with nature, and the group context.

The benefits of Adventure Therapy are many and proven. Walking in a wood or forest generates a series of positive effects on various physiological parameters, benefits both on a physical and psychological level that subjects, alone but especially in groups, derive from direct proximity to nature, leading to reactions such as:

• lowering blood sugar levels, which is therefore useful for counteracting the onset and fighting diabetes

• against hypertension: helps to decrease blood pressure

• contributes to muscle relaxation

• invigorates the immune system

• elimination of toxins from the body

• a rebalancing of moods and a reduction in the risk of suffering from depression

• a lowering of anxiety and anger;

• an increase in concentration

• A concrete improvement in oxygenation

• an improvement in cognitive function

• Increased self-esteem

• an increase in the nerve activity of the parasympathetic system (relaxation and joy)