ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the collection of outdoor therapies to assist mental health practitioners worldwide to go outside, be present to the elements, see the beauty in the forests, walk on the beaches, and explores health and well-being among the varied landscapes and species of the home places. It describes a number of outdoor approaches to counseling, therapy, healing, wellness, and health promotion that positively contribute to psychosocial well-being, and physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. The book explains how outdoor therapies can bring the benefits of being outdoors into the counseling and therapy process and illustrates these benefits by describing a variety of unique approaches. The Institute for Outdoor Learning in the United Kingdom recently released a statement of good practice for outdoor mental health interventions.
