<< Background >>Substance abuse is one of the biggest challenges EU societies are facing. According to EMCDDA, each year it is estimated that approximately more than 15 million Europeans use a class of drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamines, MDMA and opioids. At the same time, according to WHO, per capita alcohol consumption in the WHO European Region, including the European Union (EU), is the highest in the world. Eco-therapy is a formal type of therapeutic treatment, which involves doing outdoor activities in nature. It involves varying amounts of physical activity, depending on the type of programme. It can include activities that focus on:- working in nature, such as gardening- experiencing nature, such as physical activity in nature, cycling, etc. Eco-therapy, especially structured eco-therapy that incorporates aspects of psychotherapy and CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is found to be effective in managing health disorders. Specifically, eco-therapy has multiple benefits, which drug & alcohol abuse counsellors can tap into with the appropriate training: - It significantly reduces stress levels (Park & Mattson, 2009) - It helps against PSTD (Hawkins et al., 2016)- It improves physical health (heart rate, obesity, etc.) - It reduces pain (Malenbaum et al., 2008)These benefits can have a tremendous impact in the rehabilitation process of people suffering from substance abuse disorders, as stress, PTSD and pain management are important factors for recovery (Rosenblum et al. 2003; Gielen N. et all. 2012).However, despite the research done in the field of eco-therapy and its impact on health disorders, this method is still not utilized in the field of substance abuse disorders in Europe. In this context, the project aims at supporting drug & alcohol abuse counsellors in their important role at supporting and guiding people with substance abuse disorders, by providing them with a new and innovative tool for recovery and rehabilitation, the eco-therapy methodology.<< Objectives >>The objectives of the project are: - to educate professionals and build on their capacities to better support people with substance abuse disorders- to introduce the innovative approach of eco-therapy to drug and alcohol abuse counsellors - to respond to the need for high qualified professionals in the field of drug & alcohol abuse- to support VET institutions and therapy centres at adopting eco-therapy courses and sessions (respectively) in their structures<< Implementation >>The following activities are going to be implemented by the project- Mapping of best practices in the field of eco-therapy - Interviews with professionals & trainers on eco-therapy and its potential- Study of current curricula / gap analysis- Creation of the curriculum outline, teaching methodologies and curriculum plans- Development of the educational material and interactive training resources for trainers - Development of the digital eco-therapy toolkit- Creation of the piloting methodological framework - Networking and identification of participants for the pilot implementation - Reporting on the pilot implementation - Development of the EcoTherapy MOOC<< Results >>The following project results are foreseen in the project: R1: Guide for therapy centers and VET institutions on eco-therapy for substance abuse disorders R2: Eco-therapy curriculum and Open Educational ResourcesR3: Eco-therapy digital toolkit for VET trainersLTTA: Eco-therapy resources training for partners’ staffR4: Eco-therapy MOOCR5: Eco-therapy training sessions for professionalsApart from the above-mentioned results, the project will also produce results relating to dissemination. In detail these are: - A project website & project information material, which will be used to promote and disseminate the project to stakeholders and the target groups, as well as to host (website) the project results and to ensure open access to them- A Dissemination & Exploitation strategy, which will set the basic scope, aims, objectives and channels of the dissemination of the project and the considerations for the exploitation of the project results. Lastly, at the end of the project the following outcomes are expected: - Enhanced capacity of drug & alcohol abuse counsellors to support people with substance abuse disorders - Increased use of the tool of eco-therapy in substance abuse disorders - Better accessibility to quality services for people with substance abuse disorders