[Please note that the photos in this article are not from the RESTORE programme, to protect the privacy of the programme participants.]

The benefits of small groups include:

• Meeting other people who are in a similar situation to you,
• Getting to know them, making friends,
• Trusting others,
• Communicating your needs and emotions and ideas.

Especially for people who are anxious about social situations, it’s an opportunity to practice so many skills and really build confidence in a social setting.

All of these things are much harder to achieve in individual therapy.

We often find that one of the things the participants appreciate most is the peer support that comes from the group sharing their experiences and thoughts and ideas with each other.

Take, for example, our RESTORE programmes which have been running in Auckland and Christchurch this year.

RESTORE is for people who are off work for mental health reasons (like anxiety, depression, stress or burnout) and are on the Job Seekers benefit. We use Adventure Therapy to support them on their journey towards hauora (health and wellbeing).

Check out the feedback that we have received from the participants:

“It was comforting to learn that EVERYONE goes through stuff and everyone struggles from time to time.”

“It gave me a reason to get out of bed and have interactions with people outside my immediate circle. Being able to have meaningful conversations impacted my day positively.”

“It’s helped me realise that people do care and there are programmes that help bring change and help bring life back.”

“This programme has made me realise how important connection is for my wellbeing. Connecting with nature and people help to lift my mood and give me a sense of belonging.”

“This programme has made a difference in multiple ways: communicating with others, feeling better in nature, different ways to look at things, and feeling safer in the community.”

“I’m more positive, confident and clearer about who I am and what brings me to life. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be perfect and giving my best is fine. I’ve learned too that I have a lot to offer other people because of who I am. I have appreciated this opportunity. I am no longer suicidal, I have more hope and can feel joy, self-pride and gratitude.”

[This article is from our Christmas newsletter. Read the rest of the newsletter here (PDF)]

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One of KidsCan’s projects is the KidsCan Youth Council. It is a year-long scholarship programme which supports young people towards success, leadership and community
engagement.

The Youth Council is made up of ten students (aged 16-18) from all around Aotearoa New Zealand, who have been under-privileged or come from resilient backgrounds or who have benefitted from KidsCan programmes themselves. They are young people who have a desire to help others and want the opportunity to have a leadership role in their communities.

KidsCan partnered with us to create a 3-day outdoor adventure programme which focused on supporting the Youth Council students in gaining confidence and leadership skills, plus developing individual goals for themselves.

Our instructors, Nat and Joel, took the group kayaking and hiking around Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.

They also led the group in some leadership activities which focused on understanding different values and different comfort levels within a group. For example, they were asked questions like “How comfortable do you feel in deep water?” or “How much do you value time alone by yourself?” or “How connected do you feel to your culture?”

Seeing everyone’s different answers helped the students to understand how we all have different values and experiences, which, in turn, helps develop self-awareness as well as empathy and understanding for others.

After the programme, the students gave us some feedback:

“The group activities have helped me be able to talk and communicate with people I don’t know.”

“I’ve learned to be ambitious [with my goals]. It could pay off.”

“Our hike was so hard. It felt good to complete it, though.”

Ray, the KidsCan co-ordinator, gave this feedback:

“Kayaking was a youth fav. There was a good balance of education, skill, ease, exploration and playfulness. The hike was incredible and a great challenge for the youth. [The instructors] both had a very relaxed nature which made it easy for youth to feel comfortable and safe around. Good safety and risk management. I look forward to working with Adventure Specialties Trust again!”

This article is taken from our December 2023 Christmas newsletter.

Click here to read the rest of the newsletter.

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REVIVE is a new Adventure Therapy day programme (one day a week over eight weeks) for clients who are being supported by ACC’s Integrated Service for Sensitive Claims (ISSC) therapists.

We have just completed our first REVIVE programme in Christchurch.

Anneke (a qualified therapist and our Adventure Therapy Clinician) and Amy (a qualified counsellor and our Adventure Therapy Manager) met up with seven women who are clients of ACC’s ISSC.

The group spent eight Tuesdays adventuring together – walking, rafting, sea kayaking, surfing, rock climbing, on the high ropes course, and orienteering.

Anneke recounts, “We’ve laughed and cried together, reflected and shared together, eaten and celebrated birthdays together. We’ve taken brave steps to try new things and get to new heights. We’ve turned to the natural world as a resource for grounding and calming, tuned in to what our bodies need and taken rest when we’ve needed it. We’ve expressed ourselves creatively and acknowledged all that our bodies can do! Our women plan to continue to meet up socially which speaks so beautifully to our hope that people leave our programmes feeling ‘woven into community’.”

Adventure Specialties Trust has contracted an Independent Researcher to evaluate this programme (and the next three), to ensure that we are adequately supporting these participants, and to demonstrate the benefits of this active therapeutic environment for participants who have experienced trauma and significant harm.

We have a men’s group in the pipeline too!

QUOTES FROM THE PARTICIPANTS

Here are a couple of quotes from our women, about how this programme has made a difference to their lives:

“I’m wanting to be outside – to feel the air, have the air in my lungs and to know, even when it’s raining and I am soaked through, that I am in my element and I love it.”

“I had to learn to trust while on high ropes – this has helped me to trust someone outside and not to believe the world is such a scary place.”

“My confidence has increased. My capabilities in what I can achieve has increased. My trust in myself and my body has increased. My self-esteem has increased.”

“The connections made in this group are priceless. The group plan on staying in touch, continuing to support each other and grow. It can be hard to find like-minded people, but this group rocked.”

FIND OUT MORE

Find out more about our REVIVE programme.

Or Contact Us if you would like to talk to someone about the programme.

Learn more about Adventure Therapy.

Browse other Adventure Therapy programmes.

Return to Homepage.

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Thank you, Foundation North, for funding the purchase of our new mountain bikes so that more young people can experience the joy of being outdoors!

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CONGRATS to our instructors (Isaac, Nat, Oli and Anna S) who have just passed the 3-day NZOIA Bush 1 qualification last week!

Contrary to the name, “Bush 1” is not an easy or entry-level qualification. It is very a challenging assessment that includes off-track hiking, navigation, bird and tree identification, fire lighting, shelter building and a day of instructing and working with a group of participants.

The 4 instructors spent weeks studying for the practical and theoretical tests (plus some have also spent years beforehand, gaining personal experience during their own bush-crashing adventures)

Isaac said afterwards, “The most challenging part was the huge amount of study and prep that we had to do leading up to the assessment. But the most satisfying part was having all that hard work pay off. It was very nice doing this assessment with a group of friends; we were all on the same page, all doing lots of study and prep leading up to this.”

Find out more about NZOIA qualifications on the NZOIA website.

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THANK YOU RECREATION AOTEAROA! For funding some amazing programmes over the last few months: Big Brother Big Sister and Upside Youth Mentoring in Auckland, plus Active Muslim Explorers Camp and Big Brother Big Sister in Christchurch.

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This stunning photo was taken by the talented Cole Yeoman during the 11-day “E3 Canterbury” wilderness journey earlier this year. At that point, Day 2, the group of Year 12-13 students and 3 outdoor instructors (plus Cole) were on the St James walkway in Lewis Pass, Canterbury, somewhere between Cannibal Gorge hut and Christopher hut.

E3 is a partnership between Adventure Specialties Trust, Scripture Union NZ and A Rocha. The E3 programmes are based on the belief that wilderness experiences are significant – helping us understand ourselves better and deepening our relationships with others, with God and with God’s creation. Find out more on the SUNZ website (https://www.sunz.org.nz/youth/e3/)

More photos to come!
: Cole Yeoman

The post Cole Yeoman – amazing photographer appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

We took a group called “Mums on the Move” out kayaking with Instructor Caitlin. Isn’t it a stunning location? And they even got to hang out with some seals!!! 

#betterworkstories

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