About

About AABAT & the Association

AABAT is a professional association for practitioners and organisations who have a interest in using adventure and the outdoors to achieve therapeutic outcomes in their work. The Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy Inc. was incorporated in December 2008 following a decision that was affectionately known as the Yam Bore Manifesto, written at that year’s forum in Central Australia.

While the association itself is young, it follows practices grounded in the knowledge and wisdom of its members and has behind it a Historyof events, practice, collaboration and dedication that will enable it to provide leadership, representation and support to its members and other interested parties.

The work of the association is governed by its constitution and governance rules. The breadth of the work is described within our Intended Actions document.

AABAT Inc. is a not for profit organisation run entirely by volunteers from within the field of bush adventure therapy. The business of the association is carried out by a committee of thirteen. The committee comprises seven regional representative positions from each state and territory (NSW & ACT combined), two representatives who sit on the Adventure Therapy International Committee and four office bearing positions. Together with other association members they work towards the intended actions of the association.

AABAT Constitution

Bush Adventure Therapy is a diverse field of practice combining adventure and outdoor environments with the intention to achieve therapeutic outcomes for those involved.

The Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy Inc is the nationally representative body for practitioners who have a professional interest in supporting, developing and promoting the field of Bush Adventure Therapy.

Purpose

The Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy Inc is made up of practitioners who seek to support, develop and promote the field of Bush Adventure Therapy.

Roles

The Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy Inc provides leadership, representation and support to those with a professional interest in using adventure and the outdoors to achieve therapeutic outcomes in their work.

Intended Actions

1. To promote Bush Adventure Therapy as a credible and beneficial form of therapeutic intervention
2. To refine and uphold safe and ethical practices within the Bush Adventure Therapy community
3. To provide opportunities to share, analyse and promote stories of success:
4. To maintain an open forum for discussion and exchange of resources amongst the BAT community
5. To represent the community and practice of BAT to relevant professional bodies, associations and organisations

AABAT operates on a non-profit basis

The assets and income of the association shall be applied solely in furtherance of its abovementioned roles, purpose and intended actions and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the association except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation.

View our full constitution and rules.

History of the Name

Many terms have been used to describe this field of work, including: adventure therapy; wilderness therapy; outdoor therapy; and outdoor adventure interventions. Over the last decade, there has been a movement towards a more culturally appropriate term for these practices within the South Pacific region.

“The new terminology recognises that ‘wilderness’ may be seen as a colonising term (implying ‘people-free’) that ignores the Indigenous presence in the land. The new title of Bush Adventure Therapy emphasises relationships with the natural environment in our work and practice.

The word ‘bush’ is relevant in the South Pacific region because it encompasses the whole range of natural environments, from local urban parks to vast remote natural environments (including coastal areas, mountains, rivers and deserts).

Our understanding of the term ‘adventure’ includes activities in mind, body and spirit, for people of all ages and stages.

Our understanding of the term ‘therapy’ is inclusive of general therapeutic outcomes and the specific intent of therapy.”[Adapted form a meeting of practitioners from Australia and New Zealand, 2004]

History of the association

Any attempt to summarise ‘history’ raises dilemmas and highlights blind spots. In the case of Australian bush adventure therapy, diverse influences have impacted on the emergence and evolution of the field in various locations. A combination of traditional Indigenous practices, western ideas, and international innovations have all played a part in what today is a diverse and widespread field of practice in Australia.

Ancient history: It is recognised that traditional Indigenous communities have used “bush adventures” in the Australian context towards a range of intentional wellbeing aims for millenia. Evidence suggests that traditional bush adventures have been tailored to meet both the upstream (prevention) and downstream (treatment) health needs of Indigenous communities since well before colonisation.

Recent history: A modern western use of bush adventures for healthy change appears to have emerged as early as the 1950’s in Australia, in response to identified needs and service gaps. It appears that bush adventure therapy emerged predominantly in educational settings, and evolved to be used within community, health, justice, drug treatment, mental health and employment sectors over time
Contemporary Australian bush adventure therapy practices are the result of changing social-cultural-environmental-political contexts, at local, regional and national levels. Literature evidence suggests that key people, ideas, programs, literature, and professional development events have influenced the development of various ‘streams’ of bush adventure therapy practice in Australia.

AABAT: Australian outdoor practitioners working with high needs target groups have met to discuss their work for at least 25 years. The development of a peak body to support these practices has been discussed amongst Australian practitioners for at least 15 years. Over time, as practices consolidated, participants benefited, programs were established, languages were formed, outcomes were measured, practitioners networked, and awareness increased, the benefits of formalising a professional community to support this area of work became clearer.

Time and efforts contributed by a national team of regional representatives led to the incorporation of AABAT in 2008. The establishment of AABAT is seen as a natural maturation process in the professional life of bush adventure therapy in Australia. The reader is encouraged to seek out their own local and regional ‘history’, and explore their own connections within the current professional community that makes up AABAT.

Bush Adventure Therapy Timeline

Intended actions

The breadth of work of the Australian Bush Adventure Therapy network (now AABAT) was shaped and agreed upon by all those present at the Australian Bush Adventure Therapy Forum (South Australia, August 2007):

1. To promote Bush Adventure Therapy as a credible and beneficial form of therapeutic intervention:
   • Support on-going research and evaluation
   • Retrieve, analyse and disseminate “practice wisdom” and “program stories” to broader communities
   • Contribute to the continued evolution of BAT definitions and terminology
   • Document and promote common BAT language, theoretical frameworks and practice
2. To refine and uphold safe and ethical practices within the Bush Adventure Therapy community:
   • Conduct regular meetings to discuss practice-related issues
   • Develop and disseminate common practice guidelines for BAT, including recommended Risk Management guidelines for special target populations
   • Provide a forum for sharing program resources and documentation
3. To provide opportunities to share, analyse and promote stories of success:
   • Support professional networking
   • Conduct regular forums / conferences
   • Organise training events
4. To maintain an open forum for discussion and exchange of resources amongst the BAT community:
   • Conduct regular regional meetings to discuss practice-related topics
   • Develop inclusive communication strategies, including refinement of the AABAT contacts database, a website and ‘e- communications’
   • Coordinate annual forums to celebrate successes and challenges together
5. To represent the community and practice of BAT to relevant professional bodies, associations and organisations:
   • Encourage community-wide participation in BAT decisions and directions, using agreed-upon decision-making processes
   • Provide an inclusive approach that considers issues across genders, cultures and target-groups
   • Support a respectful evolution of this professional community
   • Work towards increased understanding of the breadth of BAT practice in the wider community

Communication structure

AABAT members are encouraged to share information and communicate via an Australia-wide electronic newsletter called BAT e-news and via this website. Any person of the BAT community may submit items for inclusion in BAT e-news by following these steps:

1. Send your news item to your regional representative
2. Your representative will forward the item to an appointed BAT e-news volunteer for collation
3. The item will either be added to the AABAT website or sent out through BAT e-news

Note: Where information is of a personal or profitable nature, your representative may opt to circulate the item to the whole committee (made up of the office bearers, state and IATC representatives) for a final decision about its inclusion in the next BAT e-news. In this case, your representative will keep you informed on the progress of your news item.

Decision making

At the Australian Bush Adventure Therapy Forum (South Australia, Aug 2007) those present unanimously agreed on a specific decision-making structure for AABAT, as follows:

• Any person with a professional interest in the field or in AABAT is able to become a member of the association.
• Any member may raise questions, interests or concerns or pose the need for a BAT community decision via their regional representative.
• For community-wide decisions, each regional representative will facilitate a conversation of members within their region until agreement is reached. The response is then fed back to the AABAT committee, who make a final decision, based on consensus, facilitated by the Chair.