Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy

AABAT would like to acknowledge the work and passion of all the people involved in developing the material referenced in this section of our website and the considerable amount of work done to bring the information together for the BAT community. Particularly we acknowledge and thank Mr Daniel Bowen for compling this research summary.

Bush Adventure Therapy Research and Evaluation

There is a rich history within Australia of organisations and researchers being actively involved in bush adventure therapy (BAT) research and program evaluation. Although some of this has been published, there is much which remains unpublished (see list below). The term ‘evaluation’ refers to a systematic process of determining value, and can include: needs assessments (what are some gaps that the program will fill?), feasibility studies (given the constraints, can the program succeed?), process evaluations (how is the implemented program progressing?), outcome evaluations (were program goals and objectives achieved?), costs analysis (was the program financially worthwhile or valuable?) and research (will the program work elsewhere?). While program evaluation typically applies to a specific program(s), research aims to generalise findings to the wider world.

BAT research and program evaluation is often used as a means of improving practice, examining program effectiveness, assessing staff competence, collating participant stories, and demonstrating specific outcomes to funding agencies, program clients and other stake holders. As there are numerous challenges in evaluating BAT programs (e.g. lack of time and resources; vague or undefined outcomes; inappropriate measurement tools; and a lack of support in areas that fall outside of personal expertise, such as research methods and evaluation design), below is a list of resources and links that can aid in program evaluation processes and outcomes.

This section of the site contains the following resources:

Please Note:

The research section of this site is provided here as a resource for the BAT community. In some cases the material may incorporate or summarise views, guidelines or recommendations of third parties. Such material is assembled in good faith, but does not necessarily reflect the considered views of AABAT Inc, or indicate a reccomendation to a particular course of action. Before relying on the contents of any material cited here, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

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