Ever wonder why a weekend out in nature leaves you feeling restored, calmer, and less stressed out? There are so many reasons for this both psychologically and physiologically. Nature is the original healer offering its properties of balance, beauty, rhythm, and medicine to heal us from the inside out. Spending time in the great outdoors has more benefits than you may have thought about- especially when you combine time in nature with therapy.
When I immerse myself in nature, I notice that my thoughts get quieter, my feelings of positivity increase, and I generally have a better sense of who I am. This is why it has become my biggest passion to incorporate nature therapy into my work and daily life.
Enter the field of ecopsychology, a.k.a ecotherapy/nature therapy. I was introduced to this budding field of psychology when I was a teen and all the stars aligned.
With ecotherapy, I knew I had met my calling.
Ecotherapy holds the concept that our souls are not separate from the earth and that healing can be facilitated through a healthy connection with mother nature and in turn, ourselves. There is a key focus on sustainability, such as asking yourself the question “am I living my life and holding my relationships in a sustainable way?” Balance and reciprocity are key features in an ecotherapy session as we allow the natural world to hold us in our experience.
You might be wondering “why try ecotherapy as opposed to just taking a walk in the woods by yourself?” Good question! Combining nature with therapy allows for a deeper experience overall because it is intentional. With a therapist there, it allows sacred space to process what arises. A therapist has the ability to guide you through the connections you may make with your natural surroundings as it reflects your experience in your life. It involves taking a deeper look at where we store pain and how nature can be a safe space to process and release it.
Ecotherapy allows space to connect with your truest self and be guided through the wisdom of our intuition and our five senses. The natural setting allows a client to slow down to a more natural pace and can be less intimidating than being enclosed within four walls of an office. Slowing down offers space to focus more on what needs to be said and a therapist helps to bring voice and movement to those messages.
Ecotherapy is a sensory and experiential practice rooted in mindfulness and connection. As a practitioner, a therapist guides you in going within, accessing your five senses, and listening for the messages inside your body as you interact with nature. Within ecotherapy the natural environment takes an active role alongside the therapist in fostering increased clarity as you reconnect to the healing offerings around you. As this connection builds, resourcing ourselves by grounding with the earth can support difficult experiences in therapy though offering increased comfort and reflective guidance.
There’s a great lesson to be learned from nature in its ability to heal itself and coexist with other beings. We can tap into this wealth of knowledge through creating intentional time and space. As a guide of ecotherapy, a therapist assists in setting this intention as it relates to your current struggles and offers guidance to deepen the conversation with yourself and the surrounding environment.
Bringing therapy outdoors really helps us to zoom out of the racing thoughts, downward spirals, and busy world of distractions and see the bigger picture. It allows a feeling of connection to something greater than ourselves.
Our connections made through an ecotherapy session allows us tools and insights to bring into the other relationships in our life. This practice offers new perspectives we can gain from the ancestral spirits of our earth and energy within the natural world. My experience with ecotherapy, both as a therapist and as a client, has been profoundly powerful in allowing me to remember the truest parts of myself and safely process what arises. It has allowed clarity to emerge through challenges in my life and has encouraged growth in ways no other form of healing has been able to reach.
But don’t take my word for it. Try it for yourself. If you are curious about how ecotherapy can assist your healing journey, reach out to WildSense Therapy to see how incorporating nature into therapy can help you get back to your truest self.