Role Shifts and Equalizing Experiences Through Father-Child Outdoor Adventure Programs

Overholt, Jillisa R.

doi:10.1080/01490400.2019.1627966

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The holistic nature of adventure therapy and the various benefits related to working with groups of families ( Swank and Daire, 2010 ) very much apply to our work as well. The focus on the resources of the families that they perhaps were not aware of to begin with is another common factor between SMOT and the previous work ( Freeman and Zabriskie, 2002 ; Huff et al, 2003 ; Overholt, 2019 ). There are also parallels with the Adlerian approach ( Christian et al, 2017 ): it is of central importance to us to always keep the needs of the participants in mind and to use intentional concepts (ones that refer to mental states) as explanations of behavior.…”

Section: Future Directions: Toward Sustainable Systemic Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Qualitative studies make similar observations time and again, whether the context is family recreation, outdoor learning, or outdoor therapy: Participating in adventure activities in natural settings is argued to be beneficial for families due to the novel environment assisting the families in becoming aware of previously undiscovered familial resources, strengthening emotional bonds between family members, and enhancing communication between family members ( Freeman and Zabriskie, 2002 ; Huff et al, 2003 ; Overholt, 2019 ). Some mechanisms of change may involve improved listening skills among the family members, the practice of taking “time-outs” from heated discussions, and learning to communicate in an assertive manner when required ( Liermann and Norton, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…While still limited, outdoor adventure has also been applied in dyadic work with families. Overholt (2019) describes an intervention aimed at supporting fathers in a society where the expectations related to parenting are changing and fathers are expected to participate in childcare more than previously. Overholt (2019) used identity theory to examine changes in father-child relationships, reporting that the main outcomes included enhanced trust, communication, and mutual reliance among the fathers and children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Overholt (2019) describes an intervention aimed at supporting fathers in a society where the expectations related to parenting are changing and fathers are expected to participate in childcare more than previously. Overholt (2019) used identity theory to examine changes in father-child relationships, reporting that the main outcomes included enhanced trust, communication, and mutual reliance among the fathers and children. While Overholt (2019) emphasized the role of wilderness, she also speculated whether less remote nature experiences may promote the relationship between parent and child to the same extent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Overholt (2019) used identity theory to examine changes in father-child relationships, reporting that the main outcomes included enhanced trust, communication, and mutual reliance among the fathers and children. While Overholt (2019) emphasized the role of wilderness, she also speculated whether less remote nature experiences may promote the relationship between parent and child to the same extent. Adopting a slightly different gendered perspective, Izenstark et al (2021) have demonstrated the benefits that simply walking together outdoors may have on interpersonal affective dynamics and communication within mother-daughter dyads.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Restoring Connectedness in and to Nature: Three Nordic Examples of Recontextualizing Family Therapy to the Outdoors

Mattsson¹,

Fernee²,

Pärnänen³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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Mentalization-based family therapy and family rehabilitation represent a rich variety of approaches for assisting families with difficult interaction patterns. On the other hand, adventure therapy methods have been successfully used with families to offer them empowering experiences of succeeding together against difficult odds and to improve communication between family members. Further, the health promoting qualities of spending time outdoors are now well established and recognized. The Nordic approach to mentalization-based family rehabilitation combines adventure, outdoor, and systemic therapy. We provide three examples of nature-based family rehabilitation practices that are delivered as brief, multi-family psychological interventions taking place in nearby nature and aiming to support sustainable, systemic change. The current contribution is a description of clinical practice, not a systematic review or a formal evaluation. We propose that recontextualizing mentalization-based family rehabilitation to the outdoors can not only provide added health benefits, but also strengthen intra-familial attuned interaction and emotional connectedness. The outdoor adventure provides the families with embodied, multisensory experiences of verbal and, especially, non-verbal interaction that can be usefully examined through the lens of theory of mentalization. The concreteness of adventure experiences is particularly beneficial for families that have difficulties in verbal communication and/or utilizing executive functions, perhaps due to neuropsychiatric traits, intellectual disabilities, or learning difficulties. Furthermore, outdoor adventure can support the participants’ connectedness to nature.

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