Nature-Based Interventions for Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

Contemporary perspectives on health are beginning to recognise the inherent interconnections between the physical and psychological wellbeing of both people and our planet. This is reflected by the transdisciplinary One Health perspective (Adisasmito et al., 2022) and the expansion of bio-psycho-social models of psychological wellbeing that situate people in their ecological context (Isham et al., 2023; Tretter & Löffler-Stastka, 2019) and are consistent with Indigenous perspectives on wellbeing that have long recognised the influence of connections with country that impact psychological health (e.g., the social emotional wellbeing model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia; Dudgeon et al., 2025). Both increased contact with nature and enhanced psychological connectedness with nature are recognised as protective factors for mental health (Martin et al., 2020), which has led to a recent surge in nature-based wellbeing programmes and policies around the world (Maller et al., 2006; Rice et al., 2020). Yet, at the same time, human behaviour in the Anthropocene era continues to drive climate degradation and challenges the future viability of the planet on which we are dependent for survival and has underpinned an increasing prevalence of climate-related psychological distress, including eco-grief, eco-anxiety, and solastalgia (Koder et al., 2023). Interventions that seek to enhance human wellbeing through engagement with nature, and more sustainable human–nature relationships, span diverse disciplines and modalities, cutting right across the spectrum from treatment and prevention of psychological distress to optimising psychological wellbeing and flourishing (Kaleta et al., 2025). Such interventions must hold at their core a commitment to enhancing the wellbeing of both people and natural environments if they are to foster a healthier and happier future for all (Blackburn et al., 2025).

This Special Issue seeks to profile advancements in theoretical approaches underpinning nature-based practices, alongside case-studies and evaluations of nature-based interventions that seek to enhance human psychological health working in partnership with the natural world. Submissions are welcomed from a broad range of scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplinary and global perspectives and working with communities across the lifespan, from the psychological wellbeing of young children through to older adults.

References

Adisasmito, W. B., Almuhairi, S., Behravesh, C. B., Bilivogui, P., Bukachi, S. A., Casas, N., ... & Zhou, L. (2022). One Health: A new definition for a sustainable and healthy future. PLoS pathogens, 18(6), e1010537.

Blackburn, J., Pereira, A., Jefferies, L., Kemp, A. H., & Isham, A. (2025). Nature-based interventions for individual, collective and planetary wellbeing: A protocol for a scoping review. PLoS One, 20(4), e0314591.

Dudgeon, P., Gibson, C., Walker, R., Bray, A., Agung-Igusti, R., Derry, K., ... & Gee, G. (2025). Social and Emotional Wellbeing: A Review. Retrieved: SocialandEmotionalWellbeing_aReview.pdf

Isham, A., Morgan, G., & Kemp, A. H. (2023). Nurturing wellbeing amidst the climate crisis: on the need for a focus on wellbeing in the field of climate psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1205991.

Kaleta, B., Campbell, S., O’Keeffe, J., & Burke, J. (2025). Nature-based interventions: a systematic review of reviews. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1625294.

Koder, J., Dunk, J., & Rhodes, P. (2023). Climate distress: a review of current psychological research and practice. Sustainability, 15(10), 8115.

Maller, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., & St Leger, L. (2006). Healthy nature healthy people: ‘contact with nature’as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promotion International, 21(1), 45-54.

Martin, L., White, M. P., Hunt, A., Richardson, M., Pahl, S., & Burt, J. (2020). Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 68, 101389.

Rice, W. L., Lacey, G., Peel, V., Pan, B., Klemm, C., Miller, Z. D., ... & Taff, B. D. (2020). Examining health promotion in parks: A cross-national inquiry of Healthy Parks Healthy People programs. Recreation, Parks, and Tourism in Public Health, 4(1), 5-14.

Tretter, F., & Löffler-Stastka, H. (2019). The human ecological perspective and biopsychosocial medicine. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(21), 4230.

Dr. Elissa Pearson
Dr. Brianna Le Busque
Dr. Carla Anita Litchfield
Guest Editors

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• nature contact
• nature connection
• psychological wellbeing
• flourishing
• nature-based therapy
• animal-assisted therapy
• adventure therapy
• outdoor health
• environmental psychology
• conservation psychology
• green social work