‘Ecotherapy, Nature Therapy, Forest Bathing, Woodland Therapy…..what is it all?!’

Perhaps you’ve been looking around my website and you’re thinking ‘hang on, this all sounds lovely but why are you sometimes referring to your work as ‘ecotherapy’, at other times as ‘nature therapy’, and what about these other similar terms I’ve heard?’

It can be confusing…..

The term nature therapy is used interchangeably with the term eco therapy, ecotherapy, or eco-therapy (which, as you can see, is spelt and hyphenated in all kinds of curious ways). Perhaps confusingly, I myself spell it in various ways on this website simply so people searching for those words can find their way here—although I generally tend to prefer ‘ecotherapy’.

There are many other outdoor therapies and new eco terms relating to wellbeing and healing. For example, have you ever heard of wilderness therapy, forest bathing, permaculture? Perhaps you’ve heard of woodland therapy, wild therapy or ecopsychology? Some these terms refer to activities and ideas relating to ecotherapy, and there are crossovers, but let’s say in a nutshell that nature therapy and ecotherapy refer to therapies that deliberately aim to improve your wellbeing through connecting with nature. So this can include forest bathing, and woodland/wilderness therapy, and some other approaches, but it’s pretty much an umbrella term and very flexible.

How ecotherapy is approached depends on the therapist. Ecotherapy may be primarily focussed on horticulture and gardening; in getting a support group together to get their hands dirty and to help things grow to improve mental health. Others may focus on more outdoor physical activity, or take a very eco-conscious, even political approach. For myself, ‘mindfulness in nature’ sums up a big part of what I do. In other words, spending focussed, mindful time outside doing activities designed to help clear your mind and focus on what is actually going on. The mindfulness approach is a big part of my own work for the simple reason that it has changed my life, and I want to share it with others!

My approach to ecotherapy asks people to practise mindfulness-based activities everywhere from wild settings such as a forest or the local woodlands to the most concrete metropolis. Nature is everywhere.

I am a Zen Buddhist and I practise Zen meditation (or ‘zazen’) on a daily basis, alongside having a professional background as a person-centred counsellor. Buddhism and Buddhist psychology have influenced how I approach mental health work as much as the very western counselling approach that I am trained in. I am experienced in helping clients unpick why they are drawn to certain parts of the natural world, for example why someone finds some trees healing and yet other trees frightening. Exploring our responses to nature is how we learn about ourselves, and becoming more self-aware is as much a part of my approach as mindfully connecting to nature. My clients are free to talk as openly with me as they would with any other kind of counsellor. No topic is taboo.

My approach is also inspired by storytelling, mythology and the wonderful ways that art and creativity can be nurtured by spending time in the outdoor world.  I love traditional nature stories and I am fascinated by the link between local myths, world mythology and the ways in which folk tales and fairy tales reflect our cultural connections to nature. Creativity, stories and art are part of our make-up as humans, and a deep connection with nature can inspire some very exciting creativity in us!

So then, my ecotherapy approach in a nutshell: mindfulness and creativity!

I think it’s important to say that you don’t need to live somewhere ‘beautiful’ to do ecotherapy, as nature really is everywhere. If you walk your dog in the city every day or enjoy keeping a lot of plants at home, ecotherapy can be incorporated into your everyday life. It’s not an extra chore that you need to do in life; it’s a state of being that can change your perspective for the better, for a more peaceful life. It tends to make your life easier!

In my sessions, I take the cue from you. If you are enjoying mindfulness-based activities, then we will likely go down that route in future sessions and tasks. If you are the creative type and you get excited by writing stories by the river, learning about local myths and tales, painting the skyline or making collages out of natural objects, then that’s the direction we will likely go in. Some people love a little bit of everything!

It may seem strange and even counter-intuitive to do ecotherapy via video call on the internet or through online nature therapy programmes, but I have found that many people gain profound insights from doing their tasks alone, rather than having the therapist accompany them in person. By observing your reactions to nature, wilderness, wildlife and general outdoor life, and then coming back online afterwards to explore your experiences in a therapeutic setting (perhaps with the help of some photos you took or notes you made), you get an opportunity to look deeply into what you experienced without me interrupting your natural flow in your special solo nature time. It also makes ecotherapy services potentially accessible in places where they are not available locally (which is most places!).

I do hope that this has helped you to understand what nature therapy/ecotherapy is—or at the very least how I approach it!

Do get in touch if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you.