An Exploration of Professional Identity, towards an interdisciplinary profession

Part 1:
Following on from the Adventure Mind conference in the UK, Stephan and Joshua created a directory with Belinda Kirk (Adventure Mind) to identify practitioners from diverse occupations offering mental health services outdoors. We have been asking practitioners to identify their outdoor and therapeutic competence so that we can map their “zone of practice” using the Outdoor Mental Health Interventions Model (Richards et al., 2023). We are curious to see the correlation between self-identified occupation and perceived competence in outdoor therapeutic practice, and how clients and aspirant practitioners select the service they require. This study aims to grow awareness of outdoor therapeutic practices and ensure that those who are running it are safe, qualified and provide the quality that service users deserve.
Part 2:
Stephan and Joshua are joined by Heidi in this segment, where we introduce the Professional Identity and Interdisciplinary Practice in Outdoor and Adventure Therapy (PIIP) model. This model aims to help practitioners effectively communicate their practice, fostering dialogue and promoting a cohesive understanding of our pluralistic and interdisciplinary field. By utilizing a process of representation and integration, the PIIP model illustrates how we can strengthen the practice of Outdoor and Adventure Therapy while incorporating insights and methods from various disciplines. We will provide a resource for practitioners to take away, enabling them to reflect on and enhance their professional identity and interdisciplinary practice.