Ecotherapy

Eco-therapy helps you to reconnect with the other-than-human-world of which you are a part. It takes you out into the woods, the moor, the river and the sea and helps you to find inner-peace and well-being from feeling more at home in the natural world.

Research is clearly showing the benefits of spending time in nature; walking, sitting, watching. Yet increasingly its becoming clear we need more than that, we need to live within nature; immersed in doing, in being useful and productive, having a beneficial place, a role in working with nature in practical, simple, ways.

Ecotherapy helps you to find your role in our changing world, a role that places connection with other-than-human-beings in centre-stage.

Through practices such as forest bathing, barefoot walking, wild swimming, walking, bird watching and following animal trails, a deeper connection with the natural world and with ourselves as animal, becomes achievable.

Over the past ten years I have been working in outdoor education, guiding groups of people, both adults and children, to be more connected with their animal self. From running forest schools and camps for home educated children, NHS funded ecotherapy group sessions for adults suffering with their mental health, working on a 1-1 basis with clients and running camps and workshops dedicated on fostering a greater connection with nature.

Ecotherapy gives you confidence in being yourself, it teaches you resilience as you learn fundamental skills such as making fire, crafting with natural materials to make baskets and tools, learning to identify, forage for and prepare food. Through these activities we become more engaged in the natural world around us, engaged in living with the trees and plants and finding our place within our home, the Earth. Within group settings you can begin to work together to create that sense of deeper connection with others, based on camp life.

Ecotherapy is about learning to find your place on the Earth, so that you feel that you belong, that the Earth is your home. Learning and developing skills that bring you into direct relationship with the trees and plants can enable you to feel part of what we call “nature”. This can be a game-changer to anyone who feels that the natural world is alien. But often we can feel disconnected even if we regularly walk in the countryside. The key is to get involved, make fire and shelter, forage and cook food, craft spoons and baskets.

Through engaging with the natural world, its possible to find deep peace and healing, to feel that you have come home.

Currently I work with clients on a 1-1 basis, meeting regularly for individual ecotherapy sessions alongside shamanic healing. The specific ecotherapy offered is tailored to meet your needs and can involve the creation of a deep journey of spiritual connection. Ecotherapy can help depression, anxiety, recovery from trauma and aid the process of integration after soul retrieval. Please email Samara (samara@rewildingthesoul.org) to discuss further and to arrange a series of sessions.