Ecotherapy
Ecotherapy can be as simple as going outside for a walk as we talk through your issues - just like a regular counselling session, but outside, instead of sat in chairs in a room, with all the added wellbeing effects of connecting with nature.
Ecotherapy can also involve more dynamic and creative interactions with the natural world
I often find that, when working outside therapeutically with clients, that clients notice and reflect things around them that some way help them to describe their feelings. It as if nature becomes a mirror to their thoughts, feelings and personal process, creating metaphors that help the clients express themselves and find new perspectives on their issues.
Sometimes we use found objects from nature - stones, sticks, leaves, feathers , to create sculptures that can be used in all kinds of ways to describe their process, or perhaps to represent something they are trying to build or let go of in their lives.
By focusing on and developing your own sense of connection to nature, through a range of mindfulness and awareness activities, we can help you to nurture and grow a deep sense of belonging and comfort in the world that will stay with you and resource them in times of need, for the rest of your life.
Costs: £70 one hour session. £105 2 hour session.
Concessions available
Whole Day Sessions
I also offer whole day ecotherapy sessions for individuals or small groups, typically from 10 am to 4pm, although sunrise to sunset, overnight and 3 day trips can also be arranged.
These sessions are for people wishing to drop deeper into a sense nature connection, and are ideal ways of marking important transition stages in life.
You might have come to the end of a relationship, be planning or starting a new career, or perhaps your children have recently left home and you are looking at what comes next in your life.
A typical day will involve time spent walking, talking and focussing on that which you wish to change, celebrate or let go of in your life, using a range of psychotherapeutic approaches and interventions. It may also involve guided mindfulness and creative writing exercises to deepen your insights and reflections. We may also decide to ceremonially create sculptures or threshold spaces using natural materials as a way of marking and celebrating your life-changing transitions and resolutions.
However we do it, we will plan and co-create your experience together, using all my many years of experience in counselling and ecotherapy practice to guide you and hold you in this deep and transformative process.
Cost: £300 per day
Locations:
Dartmoor:
I have a range of walks I use around the Buckfastleigh and Holne Moor areas which take in open moor, river and forest locations
Littlehempston:
I also have a beautiful yurt and covered outdoor space set within 24 acres of private woodland and field above the River Dart near Totnes
I have used ecotherapy and nature-connection as a core part of my own wellbeing practice for at least the past 40 years; since I was a teenager in fact; when I first discovered the amazing therapeutic effects of time in nature as a resource for helping me process and decompress from the pressures of life.
During this time I explored the therapeutic value of nature for wellbeing in many different ways; from outdoor pursuits to ecological learning, conservation, foraging, art, nature based crafts, permaculture and environmental activism. My interests led me to explore European and Native American earth-based spirituality and a range of studies in ecopsychology and nature-connection. I experienced many teachings, including two years of study with Dr Martin Shaw and the School of Myth, experiencing and learning about wilderness rights of passage and storytelling traditions.
My interests in wellbeing led me to study and train as a Psychotherapist in 2014. I soon realised the potential to bring all of my experience in nature-connection work into this field through ecotherapy, and have been doing so ever since. Over the years I have led many groups and individuals through ecotherapy and wilderness rites of passage work, and have trained many counsellors in how to do this also.
I am delighted to be able to offer these skills and learning to my therapy clients; if you would like to discuss how I can support you with this practice, please don't hesitate to get in touch!
Other Work:
From June 2023 to June 2024, I took a sabbatical year to go travelling and explore what 'wilderness' means to a human. You can hear all about my adventures in my my podcast 'A Wilder Life' which you can listen to across various podcast listening platforms, or via my website https://www.awilderlife.uk/
I am also the founder and director of The New Futures Academy; an ecological learning project which hosts a popular youth mentoring programme focussing on nature connection, crafts and wellbeing for young people