Creating a Wave of Change with Clinical Adventure Therapy

Words and images from New Wave Wild Project

Ireland’s green and blue spaces have inspired and invigorated us from a young age. With the richness of possibilities on offer on the beaches, trails, and hills of Ireland we were intrigued from our early careers about the potential of the outdoors to enhance therapeutic experiences.

New Wave Wild Project founder Philip prepping for a session

After decades of study and developing the concept, we created New Wave Wild Project, a non-profit clinical adventure therapy service based in County Kerry. 

So what exactly is adventure therapy?

It is a purposeful blend of professional practice (clinical social work/psychology/psychotherapy) with intentional adventure activities and tasks in the outdoors. This creative alternative to traditional talk therapy takes therapy out of the office to combine the same great, evidence-based clinical practices, with adventures in natural blue and green spaces. 

Philip guiding some clients through a session

In therapy work the language and concepts can sometimes be quite abstract. Incorporating adventure into the process can help by giving a concrete example, introducing language and metaphor, and helping them to remember the process and recall the work more easily. At New Wave Wild Project we work with all kinds of young people, adults, and families who might present with any kind of issue from school refusal, suicide ideation, complex trauma, or enduring mental health difficulty.

From about age 10 upwards, both the adventure and psychotherapeutic treatment can be adapted to suit their individual treatment goals, which makes our approach responsive and person-centred.

Getting the kitchen prepped – wild style

Since our clients have individual needs, we developed a range of Wild Projects, which include intensive one-to-one adventure therapy (Wild Sky), family or small group adventure therapy (Wild Fire), and crisis response grounding and stabilisation sessions (Wild Terra). We are based in Camp, Co. Kerry but we can be found anywhere in the country; all we need is a blue or green space.

We deliver our sessions mainly in 12-week blocks, where the client comes on a session once per week for up to 4 hours. This allows plenty of time for our ‘Wave Model’ which follows a pattern every week of activation, calming, and reflection. We incorporate adventure activities and tasks, outdoor cooking, and direct and indirect therapy work.

New Wave Wild Project HQ in Camp

Feedback informed treatment (FIT) is a key part of our sessions and a way for us to ensure that the sessions adapt with the progression of the programme and that the person’s voice is heard and central to the work. While the first impression of adventure therapy is of a high octane outdoor challenge, the powerful moments can often be the quieter ones; simply basking in a hammock, watching rain bounce off a tarp, or striking a flint & steel to create sparks from nowhere. 

Philip talking to his clients in the river

Much of our work is with young people and families, and over the years we have had referrals from public services as well as through community organisations, and privately. Something we have noticed in the past 2 years however is the increase in demand for adventure therapy at an earlier stage of mental or emotional distress. We strongly support a proactive and preventative approach. Unsurprisingly, we are constantly fielding calls from parents and community services concerned about a young person in their family or service who would benefit from our approach.

Philip out on his mountain bike

Funding is a significant issue, and while we work to find ways to support programmes one by one, we are putting our energy this year into creating a ‘Wave of Change’ in youth mental health to remove barriers of access. 

While continuing to run our sessions, through the Wave of Change initiative this year alone we have;

• Partnered with Outwest Clothing, a Dingle-based BCorp clothing company to raise awareness about our work locally and resource fully-funded adventure therapy sessions for young people on the Dingle peninsula through a specially designed t-shirt
• Connected with the community and raised €13k through A Wave of Change art event and auction at the Siamsa Tire in Tralee
• Initiated a ‘Make Your Adventure Their Adventure‘ social fundraising initiative 

We would love to spread awareness about adventure therapy and the benefits of combining the outdoors with great therapy work, using the resources and experiences available to us in nature to support understanding and communication towards improved mental health. 

Check out more about our work at www.NewWaveWildProject.ie and follow our adventure on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.