Inside out : exploring the experience emerging out of an interlacing between outdoor activities and counselling, in a Maltese context

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the emergent experience unfolding out of a locally-situated mélange between outdoor activities and counselling, as well as related contributory factors. To explore the texture of such a connection, I invited 8 young persons aged 18-21 years to participate in a 7-week Programme that I designed for the purposes of this research. The Programme, entitled “Inside Out,” consisted of 6 outdoor activities, group debriefings of the immediate experience, and 6 one-to-one counselling sessions to individually process the stories which surfaced. Along this journey the dynamics of the outdoor activities were used as a metaphor, through which a thorough processing of issues related to the participants’ lives was conducted. Out of the initial number of 8 participants, 7 managed to complete the whole Programme. One had to withdraw because of new work-related commitments. Six of those participants who stayed in the Programme until the end were university students. A thematic narrative analysis was used to explore this rapprochement experience between counselling and the outdoors. This included my reflexive process intertwined with the participants’ stories, which were voiced through semi-structured interviews and visual representations. The assistant leader, who supported me in the debriefings, as well as the activity instructors, also underwent interviews to include their expert perspective. They did not, however, form part of the sample. The autonomy and safety of the participants was addressed throughout the study. Participants were also offered the possibility for further individual counselling sessions to avoid leaving them with any pending issues. The dialogue which emerged between the participants, myself, and other contexts in which we were embedded, revealed a symbiotic relationship between the outdoor component and counselling. Amidst this interlace the participants experienced a generation of alternative selves, and an initiation towards integration. The network of relations which developed amongst participants, the space for reflection through counselling, and the overall timing of the Programme components,emerged as significant factors which contributed to the consolidation of the weave between the action and reflection components. Throughout the study my multiple roles (organizer, facilitator, researcher, and counsellor) featured as an enriching and as a limiting factor. This research can shed light on how counsellors can use novels methods, in conjunction with established means, to extend counselling beyond the four walls of a traditional counselling room. Although conclusions have been drawn, the emergent process needs to be explored further with the intention of refining and consolidating the reaching out process.