Discovering the Power of Adventure Therapy: An Interview with Victoria Newlands.
Modern society often leaves us overwhelmed, with our bodies in a constant state of ‘fight or flight.’ As we juggle the pressures of daily life, the natural world—and the peace it offers—becomes a much-needed remedy for our mental health. Adventure therapy blends the restorative power of nature with expert psychological guidance, creating a transformative experience for participants.
Adventure Boutique has emerged as a leader in this innovative field, offering week-long expeditions that aim to improve mental wellbeing for those facing challenges like depression, anxiety, addiction, and eating disorders. Their holistic approach, led by the renowned Dr. Raj Joshi and his team of adventure therapy specialists, combines outdoor activities with therapeutic practices to create meaningful change.
Victoria Newlands, who joined Adventure Boutique in 2024 as Head of Business Development, has been pivotal in advancing the organisation’s mission. Her first-hand experience on the stunning Langtang trip not only shaped her views on adventure therapy but also deepened her commitment to the foundation’s charitable goals. To date, the Adventure Boutique Foundation has raised over £100,000 globally, including more than £30,000 for the Langtang school.
Victoria’s insights into the transformative power of adventure therapy provide a fascinating lens through which to understand its impact. I’m excited to explore her journey and the work of Adventure Boutique through this interview.
How did you first hear about Adventure Boutique, and what led you to become involved?
I came to be introduced to Dr Raj Joshi and The Adventure Boutique through one of his university friend’s, Ed, who was a colleague of mine. Ed sent an email detailing a charity trek he was doing in the Nepalese Himalayas; I read the email on the same day I returned from annual leave after two weeks in Cambodia, during which time I said to my partner “I think in another life I might have been an adventurer”. With Raj’s experience and skills both as a medical doctor and expedition leader, the opportunity to trek through the Nepalese Himalaya pushing myself both mentally and physically, and do so for a wonderful charity, it felt like a sign, and I knew I had to join the Langtang Charity Trek. Through getting to know each other on the expedition Raj and I began to discuss the possibility of me working with him and The Adventure Boutique; having seen the quality of his expeditions and services from the viewpoint of a client myself, I could see what a great company The Adventure Boutique is and how strong the mission is. Moral of the story – say yes to opportunities!
What does your role as Head of Business Development involve, and what excites you most about it?
My role focuses on establishing new and growing existing relationships with clients and partner companies to raise awareness of the expeditions and programmes we offer, and ultimately welcome clients onto our expeditions. However, given that The Adventure Boutique is a small British business the reality is that I get involved in a little bit of everything – which is fantastic! From researching tiger tracking expeditions, to pitching and presenting to CEOs, to role playing to recreate a scenario for our corporate clients, that phrase of “no two days are ever the same” is most definitely true at The Adventure Boutique! Coming from a financial services background (I spent over a decade in investment management) which is very regulation driven and involves a lot of box-ticking and hoop-jumping, I get most excited about the creativity and freedom I’m afforded to design bespoke expeditions and programmes that best suit our clients’ goals, needs and desires.
Can you share your personal experience of the Langtang trip and how it inspired your commitment to the organisation?
As well as working with The Adventure Boutique, I am also now involved with The Adventure Boutique Foundation, the charity also founded by Dr Raj Joshi. Each year The Adventure Boutique hosts a charity expedition to the Langtang Valley in Nepal to raise funds for the local community, in particular a school for children who are deaf and mute. Experiencing the journey through the Langtang Valley myself, climbing up ancient paths past flowing waterfalls and luscious greenery, and meeting the some of the most hospitable and kind hosts I’ve ever met in the teahouses, made the desire to support the local community there very real and tangible for me. It was so different to raising money for a place I’d never seen and people I had never met, and I knew that I wanted to be involved long-term.
What is it about adventure therapy that makes it such an effective tool for mental health?
Adventure therapy is unique in combining outdoor adventure – physical activity in nature – with a professional therapeutic process. It offers a powerful complementary or alternative approach to traditional therapeutic approaches and prescriptions. Participants on our Adventure Therapy expedition programme are immersed in and actively engage with nature’s healing power. They hear the sounds of nature – the crunch of twigs and leaves, the soft flow of moving water, animals and insects busy in their own daily lives – and visually take it all in too. When engaging all of the senses in this way and including the well-known effects of physical movement, and expert therapeutic approaches, participants are widely known to experience significantly improved mental health and wellbeing with a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression.
How do the expeditions balance physical challenges with emotional healing?!
When we hear ‘expedition’ we often think of physically gruelling, exhausting challenges! This isn’t necessarily the case though and our use of the term ‘expedition’ focuses on the simple meaning of ‘a journey with purpose’. It is the journey to an improved physical and mental state that our participants embark on when they join our Adventure Therapy expeditions, and the physical activities are tailored to each individual participant. We are seeking to lead our guests out of their comfort zones (whatever that looks like to them) as successfully overcoming physical challenges fosters a sense of accomplishment and builds confidence and resilience. This in turn improves our ability to handle life’s difficulties and its emotional impacts; adventure is medicine!
Could you walk us through some of the activities participants engage in during an expedition?
Adventure Therapy’s daily activities are combined in such a way as to promote personal growth and lead to lasting change. The programme is based in one of the most tranquil and beautiful Alpine locations in Slovenia with access to incredible hiking trails and secluded and remote spots for meditation and relaxation. Different days of the itinerary have a different focus; for example, one of our days ‘Serenity in the Forest’ is dedicated to tranquillity and holistic wellness with activities like forest bathing and mindfulness, followed by an afternoon of Ayurveda, where ancient healing practices will harmonise the mind, body and spirit. The next day, guests are encouraged to tap into their creative and adventurous spirit with bushcraft and survival skill activities which promote resilience and self-reliance, so there is a real variety of activities. To incorporate the therapeutic process guests also follow daily reflection exercises and participate in individual and group practices.
The Adventure Boutique Foundation has raised significant funds for local communities. How does the organisation ensure that these contributions make a lasting impact?
The Adventure Boutique and The Adventure Boutique Foundation work together to identify suitable projects for support by having a team on the ground; the projects come about from the expeditions we host and interacting with the local communities we visit. Every potential project is assessed thoroughly by the team – we listen to what is needed and asked for by the local communities and conduct due diligence by speaking to other organisations and utilising our local networks. On an ongoing basis we also monitor and assess how the money is used to ensure that it has a real and meaningful impact on the community.
What are some of the standout projects or initiatives you’ve been involved with, such as the Langtang school?
Another particular success for The Adventure Boutique Foundation has been supporting Masanga hospital in the Northern Province, Sierra Leone. The charity already had a connection to the area, and during one of our visits we were approached about sourcing a machine to sterilise surgical equipment, known as an autoclave. By utilising contacts and networks in the UK we were able to fundraise for the machine and manage the logistics to have it delivered successfully to the hospital, supporting the improvement of the hospital’s health and safety process and ability to care for patients.
How does working with local communities enhance the overall experience for participants?
Adding a philanthropic aspect to an expedition takes what is already a life-affirming experience and adds another layer of perspective and sense of purpose to it. The sense of achievement that we feel from completing an expedition is magnified when participants have been motivated by charitable acts, and even more so when we are able to visit the community and meet the beneficiaries of our efforts. This promotes real, authentic connections with the local people that last long after the adventure has ended.
How has working with Adventure Boutique influenced your personal and professional growth?
When not on expedition, I work remotely – so currently I’m writing from Vietnam! This allows me to live our mission; in between work I spend my time practicing morning yoga or tai chi as the sun rises, I walk along the beach, and cycle past rice paddy fields. Every day I am outside of my comfort zone exploring new places and immersed in conversations with a diverse range of people from different backgrounds.
From a professional perspective, I’ve seen how my resilience has continued to grow; from my first expedition with The Adventure Boutique whilst still working in financial services I noted how resilient my mind and body were, and how expeditionary resilience is such a useful tool for our day to day lives. With every expedition thereafter I could see how I was building on that foundation of resilience. It became very clear just how much these skills are absent in the corporate world and has ultimately led to me supporting The Adventure Boutique with building resilience expedition programmes for the corporate and business worlds.
What advice would you give to someone considering adventure therapy for the first time?
Have faith in yourself to say yes. Whether individuals are living with mental health challenges or simply need to improve their mental wellbeing, taking the leap of faith to embark on the Adventure Therapy programme is a huge step towards escaping the negative cycle. If it feels like stepping into the unknown, then the programme is doing its job.
If you could share one takeaway about the importance of connecting with nature, what would it be?
So much has changed in the world over the past 100 years, some of it for the better, some of it not. Whilst we have leapt ahead in terms of technological advancement, which has no doubt had hugely positive impacts for many, we have regressed in terms of our day-to-day quality of life. Human beings are all part of the evolutionary eco system, and like animals we are designed to live synergistically with nature. We all depend on our affinity with the natural world; we were designed to live in communities, but not in big, sprawling, urban environments. We can all benefit hugely, both physically and mentally, from spending more time being outside and spending more time in nature. Ideally this means weaving opportunities to spend time in nature into our usual daily lives and combining this with longer periods of weeks or months on, for example, an adventure therapy expedition.
Poppy Watt