Our Activ8 program delivers outreach mental health support through a combination of individual and small group therapeutic sessions, taking place outdoors in nature.

We have created a proven model of care that works for young people who won’t engage with conventional mental health services. For many struggling young people, even getting through the door and sitting in a clinical office space is too overwhelming. At Human Nature we take a fundamentally different approach by taking young people out of the office and into nature, where they are more comfortable to engage in therapeutic services and form meaningful relationships with our team of mental health professionals. Instead of asking them to come to us, we bring the therapy to them. 

Young people are allocated an Adventure Therapist (a Psychologist, Social Worker or Counsellor) and/or a Therapeutic Mentor (a trained and highly experienced youth worker.) This therapeutic partnership provides participants with tailored support to address their complex needs while also supporting them to develop positive future pathways. Our multi disciplinary team ensures young people can safely learn to develop positive coping mechanisms, increase physical activity and time in nature, reconnect to their peers and engage meaningfully in their wider community. 

Our dynamic team provides nature-based mentoring, individual and group mental health support, skill building, and physical adventure activities that focus on building resilience and empowering young people to overcome challenges and fundamentally improve their quality of life. Our point of difference is meeting young people wherever they are, significantly reducing barriers to accessing support, and working with them in a highly tailored way for as long as they need. 

Conventional one-hour sessions with a Psychologist over a limited timeframe often only scratch the surface of the issues young people are facing, often addressing only the most urgent symptoms. Our programs are uniquely designed to reach young people who are in desperate need of support but reluctant to engage in conventional services. Activ8 bridges the massive gap between youth work and crisis mental health interventions. Each session is co-designed to meet young people where they are – developmentally, psychologically, emotionally, and geographically – and take place in outdoor environments most conducive to the young persons’ sustained engagement and receptiveness to therapeutic support.  

Taking young people out of the office and into nature is fundamental to the Human Nature approach and creates an ideal environment for participants of our Activ8 program to build meaningful connections with our team of mental health professionals.  

The Elev8 Program offers young people who have already participated in our programs an opportunity to stay connected with Human Nature and their peers, ensuring they remain supported through new challenges that may emerge during their mental health journey. Elev8 is an essential next step in our program delivery, providing wraparound care for young people as they transition out of Activ8 or Recre8 and are empowered to take new steps towards a positive future.

Through this program, participants can develop leadership skills and build their confidence in a safe and supportive environment, alongside their peers who have similar lived-experiences. Elev8 offers young people a community of ongoing support and a sense of belonging, by connecting them with their peers through group leadership events, volunteer opportunities, skill-development workshops, and therapeutic recreational activities. With a broad focus on wellbeing, employment, education or skill building, Elev8 members will have the flexibility to participate in activities that interest them and suit their personal life goals. 

Alongside this, they will also continue receiving mental health support from our team of Psychologists, Social Workers and Therapeutic Mentors who they’ve already formed deep therapeutic alliances with. Our model of long-term continuous support recognises that young people’s needs change and new challenges often arise in their transition to independence. 

I’ve realised that I need to continue looking out for my mental health, and I’ve found that I’m not alone, that I can talk to others if I need it.

Elev8 participant, workshop feedback

Each Elev8 session is unique because each young person’s needs and circumstances are unique. As with all our programs, we tailor our approach to suit each individual, offering a range of workshops, events and group therapeutic activities. An Elev8 session might involve resume workshopping and developing interviewing skills, or participating in positive recreational activities such as horse-riding and bike-riding, or spending a day in the garden and sharing a meal with other Elev8 members.

Young people are at the heart of what we do at Human Nature. Through Elev8, participants are also invited to be a part of our Youth Leadership Committee, where they can share feedback on our program delivery and contribute ideas for improving our services. We position young people as advocates with expertise to share, and our Youth Leadership Committee recognises the value of our young people’s voice in all of our work. Their feedback informs how we design, implement and evaluate our programs and we’re so grateful to be partnering with young people to provide meaningful and life-changing programs in our community.

Recre8 is an immersive adventure therapy program offered to existing Activ8 participants when therapeutically appropriate. The program takes a fundamentally different approach to how young people access mental health support, by creating an intensive and immersive therapeutic experience outdoors in nature, facilitated by our team of mental health professionals and outdoor adventure specialists. Unlike other adventure camps, participants in the Recre8 program participate in adventures and challenges in nature alongside their trained therapists and mentors, with intentional and evidence-based therapy built into the design of the program. This is radically different to clinical counselling settings.

My relationship with nature has been largely impacted by Recre8. Before the expedition, I largely took my surroundings for granted and didn’t take opportunities to be thankful for the AMAZING place we call home. I’ve learnt how to come back to centre using nature, even if that is just standing outside and waiting for my feelings to pass.

Recre8 participant

Young people choose to participate in Recre8 because of the unique opportunity to take a break from their life challenges  and have an adventure in nature with peers and trusted therapists and mentors. What they don’t anticipate is the transformative experience that comes from receiving intensive and continuous mental health support throughout the journey. 

Recre8 is offered as an enhancement to the ongoing therapeutic support provided through Activ8. After completing a Recre8 program, participants continue to receive support for as long as needed through a tailored combination of group and individual sessions. 

The program offers both expeditions, which include a hiking journey and camps which are shorter format and operate from a basecamp. The offering is tailored to meet the needs of the young people who are selected to participate.

During Recre8, participants learn new positive mental health strategies and coping mechanisms, and begin to implement them to process their trauma and overcome the challenges they face at different transitional points in their life. This program aims to provide young people who are experiencing persistent life challenges with innovative and responsive mental health support that fundamentally changes their life trajectory, redirecting them towards positive future pathways. As they experience the satisfaction and reward of being supported to overcome physical challenges, they begin to develop the confidence and ability to overcome challenges in other areas of their life too. 

A significant point of difference from other adventure camps is our investment in qualified mental health clinicians. Their expertise is applied in the relaxed setting of nature to provide an unmatched opportunity to form long-lasting therapeutic alliances.

The five key stages of the Recre8 program

1. Clinical assessment – young people in Activ8 are assessed for their suitability for an overnight or multi night experience
2. Preparation – Young people begin to prepare and attend preparation activities in nature to further assess their capacity and commitment to the program. This also serves as a gentle introduction to being in an outdoor environment and developing the skills required for an extended camp or expedition. 
3. Multi-day Therapeutic Camp or Expedition – Participants develop resilience and confidence as they complete the program and overcome the physical challenges. Throughout this entire journey, each participant has 24/7 access to our team of psychologists, social workers, and therapeutic mentors who provide mental health support whenever it’s needed. 
4. Follow-up Support – After the expedition, continued support is provided by their therapist or mentor through the Activ8 program, providing good continuity of care.  Participants are invited to join Elev8 where they can co–create more group adventures with the peers from their event as well as a community of young people with lived experience. 
5. Reunion – The Recre8 program concludes with a reunion event where participants can reflect on their experience with their peers and begin to integrate new learnings into their daily lives.