EcoTherapy

Ecotherapy aims to connect individuals therapeutically with nature. Walk + Talk sessions are available in order to bring about the mind/body connection in your therapy process, as well as, getting you grounded back with nature.

I have been practicing ecopsychology for over 10 years. This may include using plants and pictures of plants or a nature scene, or it may include meeting in person (when possible) on the beach or in the woods. The use of nature provides for a deeper level of healing that may increase empathy for oneself, others and the planet.

Ecotherapy combines the healing power of nature with traditional therapeutic techniques. Exposure to nature can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve mood, and increase concentration. We can help you develop a plan to increase your contact with nature – including increasing outdoor activities, engaging in nature-based grounding exercises, or adding natural elements to your home and work environments.

Eco-psychology is an advantageous guiding source for healing and health, as it can be applied outside the four walls and beyond the couch. The interplay of psyche and nature in a healing context can exist anywhere. As we unveil beyond the periphery of our awareness, examining self and nature, we perhaps do shape a deeper sense a being and purpose even.

Whether you’re here to learn to cope with climate anxiety, or you just want to improve your relationship with the natural world, we’ll begin to identify realistic, accessible ways for you to start feeling the benefits of a more robust relationship with the environment. Connection with nature can be a key factor in our overall wellness and healing.

We’ve long understood the benefits of “talk therapy” for the treatment of emotional distress. Science also proves that nature is a powerful medicine. Getting outside the traditional setting of an office may help you feel more comfortable while discussing painful issues. Ecotherapy has been linked to lower levels of stress hormones, increased attentiveness, decreased rumination, and improvements in mood. ​

Ecotherapy recognizes that our dis-ease as humans stems from living a life that is disconnected and out of harmony with the natural rhythms of the earth. To place mental illness solely in personal reality is a delusional repression of actual experience. Our lived experiences - on freeways, in food deserts, and concrete jungles - has separated us from our own rhythms. Our goal then, is simply to welcome you back to the rhythms of your body and the earth.

Ecotherapy centers in the inborn wisdom that humans are a part of nature and that our relationship with nature predicates our mental health. When we are more connected with wider nature around us, we feel more joy, calm, awe, grounding, or a childlike curiosity. This can feed a natural inclination to care for the Earth, and recognize the preciousness of our ecosystem. Ecotherapy then seeks to source us in nature and help us to uncover our place in the interconnected web of life.

I hold ecotherapy sessions in the redwoods of Oakland, CA. I love ecotherapy because it is an opportunity for us to find our way back to our own nature. In therapy you are being held by not just by me, but by all of creation. Ecotherapy sessions with me can involve connecting back to your body as well as reconnecting to the land.

Up until very recently in human history, healing took place in sacred spaces outdoors. Many cultures believe that one of the root causes of “dis-ease,” in fact, is the inherent disconnect between our selves and the natural world. It’s my experience that integrating nature-based interventions (even if that’s simply sitting outside for a session!) can be both incredibly grounding - literally and figuratively - and supportive of healing.

Whether you’re here to learn to cope with climate anxiety, or you just want to improve your relationship with the natural world, we’ll begin to identify realistic, accessible ways for you to start feeling the benefits of a more robust relationship with the environment. Connection with nature can be a key factor in our overall wellness and healing.

Nature Therapy & Eco-Therapy use connecting with nature as a way to support mental health. I respect nature as an ally in healing. How we interact with nature depends on your interests. It could be as simple as taking a hike, cooling our feet in a stream on a hot day, or building a campfire while we talk. If you’d like to go deeper, we could explore cultivating relationships with specific plants, animals, or streams, or consider how the changing seasons may reflect internal changes within you.

Whether you’re here to learn to cope with climate anxiety, or you just want to improve your relationship with the natural world, we’ll begin to identify realistic, accessible ways for you to start feeling the benefits of a more robust relationship with the environment. Connection with nature can be a key factor in our overall wellness and healing.