The First-Ever Level 4 Qualification in Outdoor & Adventure Therapy

Graduates leave with ongoing support built into their professional journey. You will have access to our free monthly Outdoor Therapy Clinical Supervision Group, facilitated by a multi-disciplinary team. These sessions provide a safe space for reflection and connection with both peers and clinicians.

In addition, employer partnerships and referral networks are being established to connect graduates with schools, charities, health services, and community organisations.

The quickest completion time is 9 months, but most learners are expected to finish within 12-18 months, dedicating around 4 hours per week. However, learners have up to 2 years to complete the course, offering flexibility for those with busy schedules or additional commitments.

You need to complete your payment plan before your qualification is submitted for certification. You can choose to wait until it is finished, choose to pay larger instalments or make a one off payment.

This qualification was developed by The Therapy Adventure and Open Awards, it is awarded by Open Awards and is a regulated by OFQUAL.

To make this qualification accessible, we offer a flexible payment plan.  An initial deposit to secure your place of £195 is required. The remaining balance can then be paid in 18 monthly instalments of £64.50.

You need to complete your payment plan before your qualification is submitted for certification. You can choose to wait until it is finished, choose to pay larger instalments or make a one off payment.

The Level 4 Certificate in Outdoor & Adventure Therapy is assessed through 7 assignments, which include a mix of research-based tasks, case study and vignette analyses and reflective assignments.

The reflective assignments provide a space for you to evaluate your own experiences, while the research-based tasks encourage you to deepen your understanding of therapeutic models and their integration into outdoor practices.

We pride ourselves on tailoring our courses to make it accessible to all. 

From peer-to-peer sessions, video guides, checklists, templates, and tutor support, we have learning options that suit everyone’s learning style. 

Our Approach to Accreditation and Endorsement

The Open Awards Level 4 Certificate in Outdoor & Adventure Therapy (RQF) is an Ofqual-regulated, knowledge-based qualification with university credit rating in progress.

Why not a therapy membership body like BACP or UKCP?

Bodies such as BACP, BPS and UKCP set endorsement criteria for statutory training in counselling, psychology or psychotherapy. Our qualification does not train statutory therapists or confer a protected professional title. It is intentionally integrative and multidisciplinary, rather than belonging to a single therapeutic tradition. Designing the qualification to align with one therapy body would have narrowed the focus and failed to reflect the breadth and diversity on which the qualification is built.

Why not an outdoor membership body?

Outdoor education has a long history in the UK with well-respected membership organisations. However, outdoor and adventure therapy as a distinct field draws on diverse traditions and has no single, long-established membership body representing it. With most networks relatively new and the field still developing, aligning the qualification with one body could risk narrowing its focus in what is an intentionally broad and evolving area of practice.

Our focus

Rather than aligning with any single membership body, we have deliberately prioritised academic strength, national regulation, and independent oversight.

The qualification is Ofqual-regulated and currently undergoing university credit rating, ensuring it meets rigorous academic standards recognised both nationally and internationally.

Alongside this, we have developed strategic partnerships to enrich the training experience. A nationally respected mental health charity, Manchester Mind, collaborates with us to deliver workshops for learners, bringing real-world expertise from mental health professionals into the programme. We also partner with a long-established adventure therapy charity, whose extensive experience in outdoor therapeutic work provides valuable sector insight and practical context for our students.

To ensure the qualification continues to reflect the needs of this diverse and evolving field, we are also establishing an Independent Professional Advisory Panel. This panel will bring together representatives from mental health, education, research, and the outdoor sector to provide balanced, informed guidance as the qualification develops and grows.

Yes. We support graduates to use the term Outdoor and Adventure Therapist and Outdoor and Adventure Therapy. This is a widely used term in research and practice internationally and reflects a long tradition of nature- and adventure-based therapeutic approaches.

However, it is important to note that this is a knowledge-based qualification and does not confer any statutory or protected therapist title. Graduates should always use the full term Outdoor and Adventure Therapy or Therapist so the scope and limits of their practice remain clear.

Similar fields such as equine therapy, play therapy, and ecotherapy also integrate therapeutic models and evidence-informed practices within clearly defined scopes of practice while remaining outside statutory regulation.

More information on scope of the qualification, ethical boundaries, supervision requirements and graduate expectations can be found in the Qualification Scope & Guidance document.

Graduates can design and deliver therapeutic outdoor and adventure programmes for people with mild-to-moderate mental health and wellbeing needs.

They learn how to plan sessions, integrate therapeutic frameworks, adapt for diverse needs, build safe relationships, and collaborate with healthcare professionals where appropriate.

The Qualification Scope & Guidance document sets out the full range of applications, as well as the limitations and exclusions - so graduates always work within a defined ethical and professional framework.

Safety is built into the qualification at every stage. Learners receive explicit training in ethical practice, professional boundaries, supervision requirements, and referral pathways so they understand exactly where their role begins and ends.

A full unit, Clinical Supervision and Practitioner Wellbeing, introduces recognised supervision models, reflective practice methods, and strategies for managing complexity and practitioner wellbeing. Graduates are taught that ongoing clinical supervision is essential for safe and ethical practice, this is not optional.

After completing, graduates are given access to a monthly Outdoor Therapy Clinical Supervision Group facilitated by clinical psychologists, therapists, and experienced outdoor practitioners. They can also access one-to-one consultations for more complex cases.

The Qualification Scope & Guidance document sets out clear parameters for safe practice, including the supervision expectations and referral processes, so graduates always work within defined ethical and professional boundaries.

No. This is a knowledge-based qualification, not a statutory clinical training. It equips outdoor and adventure professionals with the skills to integrate therapeutic approaches safely and ethically within outdoor and adventure settings for people with mild-to-moderate mental health needs.

Graduates must always work within the qualification’s defined scope, follow referral pathways where needs exceed this scope, and maintain ongoing supervision as set out in the Qualification Scope & Guidance document.

The Level 4 Certificate in Outdoor and Adventure Therapy is designed for people who are already experienced outdoor or adventure instructors. You already know how to deliver activities safely in outdoor settings, so this qualification focuses on something different.

Our aim is to give you high-level knowledge, ethical frameworks, and therapeutic approaches from clinical psychologists, therapists, and mental health professionals. These are best taught through expert-led workshops, live online teaching, and structured self-study, where you can learn, reflect, and engage with the evidence and theory behind good practice.

The outdoor element comes in through the immersive weekend, where you will connect what you have learned to real-world outdoor therapy settings. The qualification itself focuses on the serious, academic training you need to design safe, ethical, and effective outdoor and adventure therapy programmes, rather than teaching outdoor skills you already have.