Wilderness as therapeutic landscape in later life: Towards an understanding of place-based mechanisms for wellbeing through nature-adventure activity

Christine Milligan, Garuth Chalfont, Alex Kaley and Fiona Lobban

Social Science & Medicine, 2021, vol. 289, issue C

Abstract: While there is considerable evidence that therapeutic landscapes have a positive impact on wellbeing, we know little about the mechanisms through which this impact occurs. In this paper we go some way toward addressing this gap. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 12 people aged between 52 and 75 years of age, who are engaged in nature-adventure activity in the UK, we focus on what they understand by ‘wilderness’; their experiences of nature-adventure in wilderness settings; and the impact of these experiences on their wellbeing. Moving beyond the largely behavioural focus of laboratory-based studies prevalent within environmental psychology, we highlight the importance of understanding the role of the contextual in the therapeutic relationship. That is, how relational, embodied, social, lifecourse and/or cultural factors that are constitutive of wilderness environments impact wellbeing for those engaged in nature-adventure activity in later life. In doing so, we map out a working model of the mechanisms that impact wellbeing within this context. Our data suggest that there is no one single mechanism, rather we need to think about a range of mechanisms, often operating across a series of spectra (active/passive; safety/risk; alone/socially etc) and importantly, each are connected to place. Hence, we suggest, that where that activity takes place is instrumental for wellbeing.

Keywords: Therapeutic landscapes; Later life; Nature-adventure activity; Wilderness; Mechanisms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:289:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621007437

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114411

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