12-20 September 2026
Presenter: Dr. Stephan Natynczuk (Spare Krab Adventure Therapy) Abstract: What does borshch have to teach us about meaningful, helpful, and useful conversations? In this session, I will take a playful look at the ingredients of a good conversation and, using the...
Presenters: Max Prieto & Will Dobud Abstract: Pilgrimage as a powerful metaphor for conceptualising outdoor therapy experiences. Drawing on outdoor therapy research, practice, and personal adventures walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Max and Will reflect on...
Presenter: Peta Lawler Abstract: Periods can quietly push girls out of outdoor programs—through discomfort, shame, or lack of support. This session explores the real impact of menstruation in the outdoors and what we can do about it. We’ll share practical strategies,...
Presenters: Mark Cartner, Sam Harris, & Josh Heins Abstract: Walkabout Training offers bespoke outdoor therapeutic interventions in Queensland. The organisation was founded by an experienced youth worker with a background as a detective and extensive experience in...
Presenter: Doug Moczynski Abstract: Have you ever paused to consider how the young people you work with perceive you? Through your words, actions, and presence, the example you set shapes what meaning they make from their experience. Are you actively creating...
Presenters: Will Dobud, PhD & John Paul Healy, PhD Abstract: This presentation examines how contemporary therapy strayed from its pragmatic and experiential foundations, becoming increasingly techno-rational, standardised, and disconnected from lived experience....
Presenter: Graham Pringle, PhD (The School of Therapeutic Practice) Abstract: The Conversational Model (Meares) struts onto the therapy stage, ready to fix complex trauma with some serious swagger! We're diving into how complex trauma (ISSTD) messes with your...
Presenters: Will Dobud, PhD (Charles Sturt University) and Nevin Harper, PhD (University of Victoria, Canada) Abstract: Amid rising concerns about a so-called youth mental health crisis, this presentation challenges simplified narratives and explores the deeper...
What does it mean to provide professional youth work outdoors? Is it simply having fun outside or is there more to it? In this discussion, founder of Gippsland Adventure Therapy, Doug Moczynski, presents on how youth workers can operationalise “professional youth...
Since 2010, we’ve experienced a 40% increase in youth mental health diagnoses. In that same decade, prescriptions of psychiatric medications increased by 50%. With suicide becoming the number one cause of death for young people today and half of the population now...