Self and Place: Journeys in the Land

Abstract

One’s sense of place relates closely to one’s sense of self—a self inextricably linked and emergent within one’s context. Contemporary lifestyles have altered human-to-environment relationships, including significant reductions in direct contact with wild nature, displacement of people from place, and shifts in our social and psychological well-being. These changes have diminished our sense of place and subsequently draw into question the strength and quality of our sense of self, especially in relationship to the natural world. The practice of ‘‘journeying’’ will be shared as an approach to facilitate personal growth, a reconnection to nature, and to evoke deeper meaning-making in change processes. Raffan’s (1993) identification of the ‘‘types of knowledge invoked by the land’’ clarifies the role of therapeutic and educational processes designed to address this divergence. An Australian bush adventure therapy program case study illustrates the typologies of place knowledge, and examples of journeying across learning and therapeutic domains are provided.