EcoWellness: integrating the natural world into wilderness therapy settings with intentionality

ABSTRACTWilderness Therapy (WT) programming has been criticized for underutilizing nature as an active co-facilitator in treatment. Although some concept models in the field take into account nature’s contributions in WT, an abundance of multidisciplinary research suggests that nature contact and connection could be of greater emphasis. The purpose of this article is to introduce the EcoWellness model as one empirically based approach for facilitating intentional nature connection in WT. The state of WT research and supporting theory are reported. The EcoWellness framework is overviewed and embedded within the multidisciplinary literature. A case example is presented and implications for integrating EcoWellness into WT practice, training, and research are discussed.