According to the folk behind the Adventure Mind UK conference, new data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that depression rates have doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Record numbers of children and adults sought NHS help in 2020 for problems such as anxiety and eating disorders. The UK is facing a mental health crisis.

Adventurous activity can play a significant role in alleviating this problem for all sectors of society. During this time of significant uncertainty, immersion in adventure and outdoor spaces should being actively encouraged.

Good news then, that on 27th and 28th November 2023 the Adventure Mind conference series exploring the importance of adventure to wellbeing and mental health is back.

The event, organised by not-for-profit organisation Explorer’s Connect is designed for outdoor professionals, wellbeing practitioners, researchers, policy makers & adventurers. For outdoor professionals, wellbeing practitioners, researchers, brands, policy makers & all adventurers.

The line up is shaping up nicely and speakers and workshop leaders from many organisations are already confirmed.  To get a feel for the conference from the 2020 event you can read a  post here by Zoe Langley-Wathen of HeadRightOut.

During Adventure Mind 2022 – Professor Helen Dodd presented on “Adventurous play as a route to decreasing children’s anxiety risk”.

Since founding Another World Adventures nearly ten years ago, a number of small adventure seekers have joined the ranks and the connection between their wellbeing and nature is ever present.

Reading about Professor Helen Dodd’s talk really resonated, she said “Rates of emotional disorders in 5-15 years olds increased by 49% between 2004 and 2017. Of these, anxiety disorders are the most common. Today, in the UK, approximately half a million children have an anxiety disorder. At the same time as we have seen rates of anxiety increasing, children’s opportunities for outdoor, adventurous play have decreased. Adventurous play is defined as thrilling, exhilarating play where the child experiences a level of fear and takes age-appropriate risks. Common forms of adventurous play in children include climbing trees, riding a bike fast downhill and swinging on a rope swing. Extensive research has examined risk factors for child anxiety and established cognitive factors that underpin anxiety in children. As a result we now have a good understanding of some of the factors that underpin children’s anxiety risk. In this talk I will describe how adventurous play could be used as a mechanism to target these risk factors in children and, in turn, to decrease their anxiety risk. I will describe the existing evidence that supports these ideas and outline a research agenda that will allow us to evidence what children learn when they are given autonomy and space to play in an adventurous way“.

We’re looking forward to hearing who else will be speaking at the event and encourage everyone to get a ticket!

Full details here.

Duration: 27th & 28th November 2023 | Location: Conisbrough near Sheffield | Price: From £139

Cover image: by Alex Guillaume