ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issue and explores the philosophical, theoretical, and practical dimensions of nature’s role in adventure therapy. It explores the issues and asks some fundamental questions about the role that nature plays in an intentional therapeutic process such as Adventure therapy by first exploring the ramifications of people’s growing separation from the natural world. The therapeutic value of nature has been espoused in great depth by philosophers, poets, nature writers, and contemporary researchers across cultures for time immemorial. Nature and natural places can be viewed on a continuum, from plants on a cart in a correctional facility used by mental health professionals to connect inmates to nature, to vast landscapes that have little to no visible signs of human impact. In response to the malevolent attitude toward nature exhibited by anthropocentric Western views of philosophy and religion, a new environmental ethic emerged.
