Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Untangling nature-based Interventions’ influences on participants’ mental wellbeing: Critiquing 'nature on prescription'
AU - Harrod, Andy
AU - Von Benzon, Nadia
PY - 2024/11/20
Y1 - 2024/11/20
N2 - Nature-based interventions integrate nature through facilitated, structured and regular activities to co-create active therapeutic processes. The prescribing of nature-based interventions is a growing area of social prescribing informed by a developing evidence-base linking exposure and engagement with nature to improved emotional regulation and processing for both children and adults. Three core components have been identified as characterising nature-based interventions, including: nature; meaningful activity; and social interaction. There is a wealth of research highlighting the efficacy of nature-based interventions, related to the core components, in supporting short-term changes to mental wellbeing. However, there are limited follow-up studies, so there is uncertainty regarding the sustainability of benefits. This focus on the short-term has also meant that whilst the affective characteristics of nature-based interventions have been described and attributed to improvements in participants’ wellbeing, less attention has been turned to how nature-based interventions co-create these beneficial effects. As such, we recommend engaging with psychological theories of therapeutic processes to expand our understanding of the co-creation of therapeutic experiences at nature-based interventions. Specifically, how participants’ experiences can go beyond in-the-moment respite and recovery to co-create transformational experiences that have long-term effects on participants’ wellbeing. This involves shifting focus onto the influence of two key actants, facilitators and participants, who have often been neglected in research studies.
AB - Nature-based interventions integrate nature through facilitated, structured and regular activities to co-create active therapeutic processes. The prescribing of nature-based interventions is a growing area of social prescribing informed by a developing evidence-base linking exposure and engagement with nature to improved emotional regulation and processing for both children and adults. Three core components have been identified as characterising nature-based interventions, including: nature; meaningful activity; and social interaction. There is a wealth of research highlighting the efficacy of nature-based interventions, related to the core components, in supporting short-term changes to mental wellbeing. However, there are limited follow-up studies, so there is uncertainty regarding the sustainability of benefits. This focus on the short-term has also meant that whilst the affective characteristics of nature-based interventions have been described and attributed to improvements in participants’ wellbeing, less attention has been turned to how nature-based interventions co-create these beneficial effects. As such, we recommend engaging with psychological theories of therapeutic processes to expand our understanding of the co-creation of therapeutic experiences at nature-based interventions. Specifically, how participants’ experiences can go beyond in-the-moment respite and recovery to co-create transformational experiences that have long-term effects on participants’ wellbeing. This involves shifting focus onto the influence of two key actants, facilitators and participants, who have often been neglected in research studies.
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9781032385761
SP - 108
EP - 119
BT - Routledge Handbook on Spaces of Mental Health and Wellbeing
A2 - Boyd, Candice P.
A2 - Boyle, Louise E.
A2 - Bell, Sarah L.
A2 - Högström, Ebba
A2 - Evans, Joshua
A2 - Paul, Alak
A2 - Foley, Ronan
PB - Routledge
CY - London
ER -