Nature-Based Interventions in Practice: A Scoping Review of Social Work Literature

Heather Boetto; Vinathe Sharma-Brymer; Jillian McCaffery

doi:10.1007/s10615-026-01054-8

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Nature-Based Interventions in Practice: A Scoping Review of Social Work Literature

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Nature-Based Interventions in Practice: A Scoping Review of Social Work Literature

Heather Boetto, Vinathe Sharma-Brymer and Jillian McCaffery

Clinical Social Work Journal, Vol.Advanced access

19-Sep-2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-026-01054-8

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Abstract

Clinical social work practice

Determinants of health

nature-based interventions

ecosocial work

social work

human-nature relationships

Research on the health and well-being benefits of human–nature relationships is gaining prominence across interdisciplinary fields. This article reports on a study aimed to systematically examine how nature-based interventions are conceptualised, theorised, and applied within social work scholarship. A scoping review explored scholarly databases to examine literature relating to nature-based interventions between 2000 and 2024. Data were extracted from the literature to synthesise key characteristics, including the type, range, and key design features of interventions. The scoping review yielded a total of 23 articles, suggesting that nature-based interventions remain an emerging and underdeveloped area of practice and scholarship in social work. Key outcomes identified diverse conceptual understandings, varied theoretical underpinnings, the need for inclusion of broader population groups, and a tendency to prioritise therapeutic change over systemic change. Implications for social work suggest a need for building a unified theoretical framework, stronger empirical foundations, and greater integration of nature-based interventions within education, practice, and policy. Finally, broadening the scope of nature-based interventions to encompass decolonised ways of collective, community-led, and placed-based strategies is essential for aligning with social work’s global commitment to addressing interconnected well-being, social and ecological challenges.

Details

Title: Nature-Based Interventions in Practice: A Scoping Review of Social Work Literature
Authors: Heather Boetto (Corresponding Author) - Charles Sturt University
Vinathe Sharma-Brymer - University of the Sunshine Coast
Jillian McCaffery - Charles Sturt University
Publication details: Clinical Social Work Journal, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
DOI: 10.1007/s10615-026-01054-8
ISSN: 1573-3343
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Organisation Unit: Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991259695302621
Output Type: Journal article

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