ACT in the Outdoors: A program based on Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Adventure Therapy and Outdoor Learning

Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) has emerged as a popular behavioural change technique which has been applied to address a wide range of challenges. Its primary objective is to support participants to identify and reframe the behaviours in their lives that cause obfuscation and impede constructive action; through a process of acceptance of the current state of being, a conscious framing of constructive actions that will result in the life desired by the participant, and a deliberate process of commitment to these actions. This project sought to not only enhance the social, emotional and behavioural well-being of participating students, but also to generate a new body of knowledge about how The Outside Classroom (TOC) and ACT can be developed and delivered in a collaborative and complementary way to effect change for students with challenging behaviour and/or emotional needs. This manual has been developed based on the program conducted during the research and has been enhanced so that it can be adapted and used by educators and therapists with an interest in this integrated and unique approach. The final report for the research project is available at http://doi.org/10.4225/35/5924fd37c514d