Anneke’s Reflections from the
10th International Adventure Therapy Conference 10th IATC
in Taiwan, July 2025
Taiwan! I am so grateful to have been a recipient of ĀTA’s financial scholarship, to help me get to Hualien, Taiwan for the 10th International Adventure Therapy Conference in June 2025.
Aroha, Hononga and Whakawhanaungatanga. It was a great privilege to be present at this conference with seven other kiwis; Helen, Amy, Taina, Anna, Kelly, Swanney and Akari. Staying together in an AirBnb allowed for many reflective conversations about what we’d each learned or seen or participated in each day. And it was one of the highlights to sing with, sit with, and hongi, alongside the ĀTA Leadership Group and their presentation “Weaving Worlds”.
There were so many new connections made; highlights included meeting some people whose work I’ve read and been informed by. People who have been working in this field and coming to these International Conferences for years, and who welcomed us new ones into the International whanau. People who are doing similar
work to me in the sphere of survivors of sexual harm. People who are instructors, clinicians, social justice advocates, community builders and more. The incredible local volunteers. It felt amazing to be part of this global network of people, all working outdoors for the benefit of others.
Intentions and hopes: Having not been to one of these conferences before, I was very excited to learn from people who have worked in Adventure and Nature Therapy for many years, and also to hear about new and current research and projects from around the world. The Conference Theme of “The Healing Power of Nature” spoke to all of my passions, beliefs, and hopes for my work, my family and my community. My intention in attending this conference was to reconnect with the heart of my work- to deepen my understanding of how nature and outdoor therapy supports healing, and to explore how this power can continue to shape my practice. I came seeking inspiration, connection and practical insight into how others are working in partnership with the natural world to support recovery from trauma. My
hope was to be re-rooted in what matters most; relational, embodied, land-connected ways of working that honour both people and place.
Wonderings and wanderings and some personal impact and adventures. I hadn’t been to Taiwan before. And haven’t travelled outside of the Pacific for over twenty years! So there were certainly some good laughs, some incredible adventures, and so much that was personally fulfilling. Thirty-five degrees and squeezing into wetsuits! Swimming with the jellyfish. Dancing at the opening celebrations, in the Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Museum. Exploring the night markets. The excursion to the Gao Shan Tribal Forest Ranch. Working out how to use the metro in Taipei. Trying all the fruit, seafood, and other beautiful kai over there. Walking in the bush. Attending a local primary school surf day with one of Taiwan’s few surf instructors. Paddleboarding in the sunrise at the Qingshui Cliffs. Swimming with other conference delegates that had never been in the sea, at the Jonathan Su Foundation. There’s something about travel that is so inspiring and uplifing, AND makes you grateful to return home. I’m also so grateful to my own whanau for encouraging me to go despite some important whanau things happening here at home. And to my employer Adventure Specialties Trust for the support to include this in my Professional Development Plan.
Ako: Key learnings and professional impact.
There were so many valuable workshops that I attended, and it was so hard to choose, so many I missed. So much creativity, inspiration, and incredible tools! Tony Alvarez’s keynote was a reminder about the importance of INTENT. He reminded us to take note of WHO showed up today, and WHAT showed up with who showed up? This really resonated with me as it speaks to the relational heart of Adventure Therapy; a reminder that people arrive not just with gear and goals, but with histories, nervous systems, parts, patterns, protections and hopes. Some of these things are visible, and some are not. It reminds me that Adventure Therapy isn’t just about the ropes or the track, but about seeing and acknowledging people as they are in that moment, and welcoming whatever arrives with them; whether it’s joy or fatigue or courage. And it all matters. I went to several presentations of recent research and evaluation, and came away inspired to think more about this, how we, as individuals, or organisations, or collectives, can contribute to research, and reflect the specific needs and contexts in Aotearoa.
The experiential aspects of Adventure Therapy of course ran strongly through most presentations, and it was great to learn some new techniques, whether for working with individual clients, with groups or even in supervision. There were so many unique offerings. Digital tools were a focus of a presentation by Tara from Wales, see photo of Swanney trying some out. I loved the way she reframed digital tools not as something to resist, but as potential allies-even in therapeutic work where we often aim to disconnect from technology. The workshops and conversations and threads around diversity, inclusion, belonging, priviledge, culture, decolonisation were both exciting and challenging. They stirred important questions for me-not just about how I practice, but the deeper assumptions that I bring into therapeutic and outdoor spaces. At times I felt streched, unsettled, even uncomfortable, and I recognise that’s part of the work. I’m grateful for the voices that brought complexity, courage and clarity into those discussions. We all have responsibility to keep listening, unlearning, and reimagining.
Coming from a Social Work background, I feel especially drawn to conversations about social justice and community development. These are not just professional interests-they feel like part of my foundation and purpose. The closing keynote by Natalia Rakar-Szabo about “courage in action” in Ukraine, was a particuarly powerful finish to the conference, and an invitation/inspiration/wero to us all to keep social justice at the forefront of what we do. This talk brought the realities of conflict, displacement, and resililience into the room. For me it was a powerful reminder that this work is always shaped by broader systems of power, inequality, and resistance. Hearing how practitioners are adapting and responding in such extreme circumstances reaffirmed my belief in the relevance and responsibility of this work.
Amy and I gave a presentation together; How we (at Adventure Specialties Trust) use Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Wha framework in our Adventure Therapy Programmes with adult survivors of sexual harm and violence. I was deeply grateful to the participants of our workshop, who engaged so openly in discussion, and generously and shared valuable insights from their own cultural contexts and areas
of work. It was a reminder of the priviledge we have in Aotearoa, having access (given generously by many, incuding Mason Durie) to an indigenous framework that continues to guide and ground practice in meaningful ways.
