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Different forms of eco-therapeutic interventions have positively impacted the physical, psychological and social wellbeing status of service users across a range of age groups. However, there has been little evidence exploring the experience and perceived impact of an ecotherapy program for adolescents in the UK. This study explored perceptions of adolescents and their parents of an ecotherapy program targeting improved mental health and wellbeing. This study involved semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents. Interviews took place shortly after the program ended (adolescents and parents) and six weeks after (adolescents only). Interviews from the two groups were initially analyzed separately before being triangulated. Eight adolescents and seven parents were interviewed in total. Three themes were generated: building connections, learning and exposure, and comparing and constructing with prior services accessed. Perceived improvements across adolescents included reduced negative emotions and anxiety, and greater self-esteem, confidence, and social skills. For the latter theme, there were reported distinctive experiences of attending this ecotherapy program compared with professional mental health support services. Exploring nature brought adolescents together with benefits of engaging in support services that varied from the norm. Future research should examine the feasibility of using ecotherapy as an alternative treatment to traditional therapy in supporting mental health, and evaluate the economic viability of such a program for non-clinical support provision.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.