Nature Therapy - Reconnecting to Ourselves, Others, & The Earth

Throughout my career in social work, many people have shared with me about feeling alone. They share about feeling like they don’t belong. They share about feeling like they are disconnected from their purpose and from their bodies. As a society in the United States, many of us have been disconnected from the land, from community, and from rhythms of our bodies and lives that can allow us to feel connected. We use machines to transport us around on pavement, railways, and in the air and zone out into our own worlds with a podcast, song, social media, or a streaming service. We may sit behind a screen for most of the day in our own home and we often do not know the names of our neighbors. I wonder if this may be a part of the aloneness, the sense of not belonging. I am not trying to minimize the impact of systems of oppression or a history of commodification of people and resources on these feelings or on mental health challenges that exist. Rather, I am trying to use my perspective as a therapist & a nature-based therapist to wonder about questions of loneliness and mental health through the lens of our connection to the planet.

Research around the globe has been showing that when humans connect to other natural beings and natural spaces, there are cognitive, emotional, physical, and mental benefits (Weir, 2020). In many indigenous practices around the world, people have been intricately connected to the land and all natural beings in a reciprocal and sacred way for generations. This does not seem like a coincidence to me. In the United States, many people have been taught that we are separate from nature, that somehow other natural beings are a resource for us to use as we need. What if we could remember that we are not separate from the rest of the natural world but that we are part of it?

Nature therapy can be a resource for beginning this journey of reconnection. It can give you space to notice sensations that exist for you as you experience a cool breeze, move down a trail, encounter a sight that brings you a sense of awe or beauty. It can give you space to notice the intricate ways that you are connected to a story that is larger than your own, that you are not alone in the world even when it may feel like you are. It can give you a space to rediscover playfulness, curiosity, wonder, or calm or to notice what you may be able to learn from the earth around you. Nature therapy can be a step towards reconnection not only with yourself but with the planet and all other living beings that are around you each and every day.

If you are curious to learn more about nature therapy or about connecting with a nature-based therapist, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!