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

Abstract

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.