A new transnational project, “Forest4Youth”, leverages the therapeutic potential of forests to support the rehabilitation of adolescents facing mental health issues in Northwest Europe. With a total budget of approximately 3.84 million euros and a starting date of January 1, 2025, the project recognizes that 17.5% of young people aged 10 to 19 in NWE suffer from mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and behavioural disorders, facing saturated mental health services.
The Forest4Youth project seeks accessibility and innovation as research indicates promising results for nature-based immersive therapies in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety, therefore expanding the use of natural spaces for the benefit of adolescent mental health users.
The core objective of Forest4Youth is to support the development of a joint forest-based therapy protocol for adolescents (12-18) in psychiatric wards across NWE and to promote forest management practices that incorporate health benefits. This will be achieved through the co-creation of a standardised, tested, and validated forest-based therapeutic programme.
Key activities foreseen in the project include:
Conducting a state-of-the-art review of forest-based initiatives, including virtual reality experiences, to understand their effects on recovery .
Identifying relevant care activities based on different forest types .
Defining a specific care protocol that integrates the therapeutic effects of the forest, both in real life and through virtual reality (VR).
Setting up 5 pilot therapeutic forests in different NWE countries and implementing pilot VR immersive forest-based activities, targeting 450 teenagers facing mental health issues.
Conducting a clinical trial of forest-based therapies.
Developing guidelines for public authorities and foresters, in collaboration with mental health professionals.
Creating a tailor-made training framework for mental health professionals and foresters.
The expected outcomes of the Forest4Youth project include:
- A joint synthesis of forest-based initiatives and research experiences for teenagers with mental health issues.
- A joint care protocol integrating both immersive and VR experiences.
- The implementation of the pilot therapeutic forests and VR activities.
- The development of guidelines for public authorities and foresters.
- The development of a training framework for professionals.
- Increased awareness among professionals, policymakers, mental health users, and their families about forest-based care protocols.
Partnerships and Advisory Support
The project is led by CNP St Martin, a Psychiatric Hospital in Belgium, involving also partners and associated partners as UNature, a research association from Luxembourg; RCSI, a university from Ireland; SRFB-KBBM, a forestry association from Belgium; Elan Argonnais, a medical center from France; Bruxelles- Environnement, a regional public authority from Belgium; ULB, a university also from Belgium; and Landesforst Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, an organization from Germany and the Forest Therapy Hub. It will provide advisory support to these partners, offering expertise to key European centers involved in this field, collaborating to carry out the various activities of the project aimed at integrating forest-based therapies for adolescents with mental health issues.
By integrating forest-based therapies into mental health care and encouraging their adoption, the project aims to provide holistic support to young people struggling with mental health issues, utilizing a transnational approach to ensure broad accessibility to the developed solutions. The project also intends to explore the application of the developed care protocol to other mental illnesses.
The Forest4Youth project is funded by Interreg for the period 2025–2029, with a budget of EUR 3.9 million.
