When immersed in the wilderness and faced with the real and immediate experience this entails, the clients will become increasingly aware of the range of different options available to them, that they are able to make informed choices, and that they do not have to rely on their usual patterns of behaviour or internal responses when faced with uncertainty.

During a WFUK programme, participants embark on a literal journey of self-discovery. When they become involved in routines in the outdoors that are logical and necessary for their comfort and safety, the natural result is to develop relationships with others and nature in ways that they may have not had the opportunity to do so before.

One of the purposes of therapy in nature is to provide a place where people can experiment with new possibilities.

Through this contact with others and through their experience in and with nature, they may discover what they previously perceived to be their unobtainable potential and connect with useful inner resources for their lives ahead.

In addition to the practical application of wilderness experience and therapy, the Wilderness Foundation underpins its activities, with regular research to monitor the effect of wilderness experience, and to track the impact it has on issues such as mood, self esteem and connectedness to nature.

Key partners in this are The University of Essex, and Incore, University of Ulster.

We hope that through time spent outdoors a love and interest in nature can develop, thus rekindling a sense of belonging to the wider world. This can be a vital relationship for humans who have experienced abuse.