Being at one with the world around us, and harnessing the power of the outdoors, has countless wellbeing benefits. So, why not make the most of this natural resource when supporting your mental health? Here, we’re exploring nature therapy, and exactly what you can expect from it
When you imagine a therapy session, what do you see? A calm office interior, or a quiet consulting room? While this may indeed be the typical set up for counselling, many therapists are now offering alternative environments to support their clients. And stepping outside of these traditional expectations, enables professionals to bring the human/nature connection into the present.
Nature therapy – also known as walking therapy, wilderness therapy, and eco-therapy – is the practice of being outside surrounded by nature. This can be in any open space, whether that be in a garden, a park, or the countryside, and is usually facilitated by a therapist who will be there to support and help the growth of the client.
Of course, this concept is nothing new, although it is now gaining more popularity. Nature and the natural world is a wonderful resource, which has always been available to us, and it offers us the opportunity for a connection to enable us to gain clarity, create perspective, feel inner calm, and to aid growth and healing.
Trees, plants, animals, birds, the elements, and not forgetting the cycle of the seasons – all of these can be our teachers. They can mirror our feelings, and offer us the opportunity to increase our self-awareness.
Try nature therapy for yourself
Take a moment today to step outside – if you have a garden, you could head there, or to a local park if there’s one nearby. Even if this isn’t possible, simply being outside in the fresh air can be a good starting point. Once outside, close your eyes and take several deep breaths.
Focus on listening to the sounds around you, and feel your body relaxing and responding to your breath.
By removing ourselves from the confines and brick boundaries of a building, and instead transporting ourselves outside into an open space and filling our lungs with fresh air, we can immediately feel the benefit and a sense of wellbeing.
With various activities available such as walking, observing, and meditating, we are able to involve all of our senses, which then helps us to develop our connection to the natural world that surrounds us – of which we are an intricate part of. Often this is something we forget, or indeed we believe our busy lifestyles do not allow for.
The next time you are out, perhaps for a walk or just sitting on a bench, you can make a conscious effort to notice the beauty of nature by listening to a bird sing, or maybe touch the trunk of an ancient tree; both these experiences connect our emotional attachment to that which surrounds us in nature.
This experience of connection may be further explained by studies that have been done using fMRI