Unpacking Relational Dignity: In Pursuit of an Ethic of Care for Outdoor Therapies
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2022Metadata
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Harper, N. J. & Fernee, C. R. (2022). Unpacking Relational Dignity: In Pursuit of an Ethic of Care for Outdoor Therapies. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-5. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.766283Abstract
Dignity is a universal principle that requires us to treat every person as having worth
beyond who a particular person is or what they do. Dignity is a complex and sometimes
contested idea, that at times can be compromised in health care and allegedly
also within the practice of outdoor therapy. Outdoor therapies comprise a range of
therapeutic approaches including nature-based therapy, adventure therapy, animalassisted therapy, forest therapy, wilderness therapy, surf therapy, and more. Within
the literature of outdoor therapies there has been limited research on ethics related
to common understandings of care concepts such as relational dignity and human
rights. The aim of this paper is therefore to unravel briefly whether dignity in general,
and relational qualities of dignified care more particularly, might be a useful concept to
apply in order to support an ethical practice in outdoor therapies.