Healing with Nature in Mind

In a world that often feels rushed, noisy, and overwhelming, many of us find ourselves disconnected—from our own bodies, from those around us, and from the Earth beneath our feet. Nature Based Therapy—also known as Ecotherapy or Green Therapy—offers a way back into connection. A gentle invitation to slow down, to breathe, and to come home to ourselves through the natural world.

Returning to Our Roots

At its heart, Nature Based Therapy is about relationships—our relationship with nature, with ourselves, and with the present moment. It draws on the understanding that we are not separate from nature, but deeply embedded in it—and that our mental and emotional health is closely linked to the health of the world around us.

This approach can take many forms. It might look like walking mindfully through the bush, sitting quietly by a river, tending a garden, or having a therapy session under the sky instead of inside a room. Whatever the form, the focus is always on engaging with the natural world in a conscious, respectful, and embodied way.

Rather than sitting across from a therapist indoors, Nature-Based Therapy invites you to step outside—where the wind, the trees, wildlife and the changing sky can become part of the healing conversation.

We are wired for connection with nature. For thousands of years, humans lived in close relationship with the Earth’s rhythms—sleeping under stars, growing food, and listening to the sounds of birds, water, and wind. Our nervous systems still remember.

Modern research confirms what many of us instinctively feel:

• Nature helps reduce stress and anxiety

• It lowers blood pressure and heart rate

• It supports mood, memory, and focus

• It boosts creativity and immune function

• And perhaps most importantly, it helps us feel safe, grounded and alive

For many people, being in nature allows emotions to surface more gently. The outdoors can soften the intensity of therapy, offering a sense of spaciousness for integration and healing.

Nature becomes a co-therapist—present, responsive, and nonjudgmental. The therapist’s role is to guide, attune, and hold space while working with the unique qualities of the natural environment. Here are some ways this might unfold:

Walk and Talk Therapy

Conversations take place side by side, in motion—often allowing thoughts and feelings to flow more naturally and with less pressure.

Nature Based Somatic or Gestalt Therapy

In these sessions, the therapist invites awareness of bodily sensations and emotional experiences, supported by the living environment around you.
Every session is different—guided by your needs, the weather, the season, and what nature brings into the space that day.

Nature Based Therapy isn't just about feeling better—it’s about remembering that you belong. To the Earth. To your body. To the present moment.

It also recognises that personal healing and planetary healing go hand in hand. As we heal the fractures within ourselves—our pain, our grief, our trauma—we may also begin to repair our relationship with the more-than-human world.

Many people come to this work feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or alone. The natural world offers a stable, wise presence. It doesn't rush or judge. It just is. And in its quiet company, we are often able to rediscover something essential and true within ourselves.

Whatever challenges you bring into a nature based therapy session—grief, pain, questions, or uncertainty—you are not alone. With nature as a co-therapist, you will leave with more clarity, insight, and guidance that is uniquely offered to you, through your own lived experience and the living world around you.