Intercultural and geo-socio-political intersections informing the critique of social work in action. How can outdoor/ adventure therapy guide curriculum and social work practice in a state of global systems collapse
The social work profession, curriculum and practice base has the potential to be responsive to planetary and human health in valuable ways. Social work solutions have the potential to influence oppressive human constructed systems that harm marginalised groups and communities and institutions that accelerate the destabilization of the earth's climate. Across geo-social-political locations there are examples of dedicated social workers who are responding to the human constructed impact on humanity and the natural world by advocating for ‘greening’ curriculum, practice expansion and for their national peak social work bodies to include outdoor/ adventure therapy into the dominant social work discourse.
We are all in this global experience together. We all engage with eco-anxiety, disconnections from country and nature, colonial forces and neo-liberal, patriarchal, capitalist and individualist ‘leadership’ - regardless of our geo-socio-political locations. This collaboration of social workers will discuss and identify ways in which social work ethics, curriculum and practice has been supported and threatened in the pursuit of integrating and creating meaningful outdoor and adventure therapy and social work connections for students and the profession.
Discussions will highlight developments in other countries. Health care professional bodies such as social work have opportunities to respond meaningfully to these systemic fractures. Discussion about the AASW and the Interantional Federation of Social Workers ‘Climate Justice Program’ will be included (https://www.ifsw.org/social-work-action/climate-justice-program/introduction/)
We welcome attending social workers and other health care professionals, everyone to come and add to this critical discussion and to consider your own professional identity and professional bodies.
Amanda Smith
she/her
Social Work Lecturer
Amanda Smith (she/her) is a social work lecturer in the School of Health Sciences and Social Work at Griffith University, Australia. Amanda is an enthusiastic social worker with over two decades experience working in various community and government sectors including direct service delivery, counselling, therapeutic program design and facilitation, leadership and training / education. She continues to bridge values and principles of compassion and critical structural analysis within her teaching, practice and lens within the field.
Amanda founded a Bush Adventure Therapy program within a national NGO service and designed, facilitated and evaluated numerous BAT programs. Amanda increasingly believes that social work and outdoor health theories and practices are a dynamic, climate responsive and critical collaboration. She continues to advocate for the introduction of Bush Adventure Therapy curriculum and progressive pedagogical approaches to be offered in social work and other health care tertiary education settings. Amanda values collaborations with research and practitioners across disciplines and geographical locations that explore ethical inter-cultural outdoor therapy training and practice.
Amanda co-facilitates the Foundations of Outdoor Therapy training with Adventure Works and co-established the first LGBTIQASB+ Outdoors Health Australia group. Amanda is a co-international representative for Outdoor Health Australia and previous national Chair of Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy.