Tag: nature

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Why walk and talk?

The idea of taking therapy out of the counselling room and into nature has really taken off in recent years. Covid pandemic lockdowns have been one driving force, as it was sometimes the only way for counsellors to keep seeing their clients in person. On the other hand, it could be seen as a practice with ancient roots in shamanistic healing work that sees humans as part of our natural environment. More than 2,000 therapists on one major counsellor directory now offer outdoor sessions as an option as well as or instead of counselling rooms or by internet or phone. So what might be the benefits?

Photograph of fallen trees covered in moss against a backdrop of a winter deciduous woodland in North Wales.

Nature’s effect on mental health and wellbeing

While research about the effects of being outdoors on the nitty gritty of counselling is still catching up, there’s a large – and growing – body of research about the benefits of time in nature on humans’ mental health and wellbeing.

They include calming of the nervous system, boosting thinking power and mood, raising self-esteem and fostering a nurturing sense of connection.

Quite how this is achieved is less certain but we do know that our evolution may play a part – affecting the kinds of places we feel safe and nourished in. Edward O Wilson put forward the biophilia hypothesis, which suggests humans have an innate tendency to seek connection with other forms of life and nature as a whole. Ecopsychology, which has been developing for several decades now, claims to ‘revision’ traditional psychology in a way that puts the human psyche back into intimate relationship with the wider world.

Further research shows how the combination of movement in the form of walking with being outdoors can also support therapeutic goals.

A wider picture

Much of the above information comes from my research towards my Masters degree (and I have references available for anyone who would like them!). But what really struck me as I was reading all the research papers and books were some of the terms that kept recurring:

Connectedness, interconnectedness, inter-relation, a sense of a natural bond, holistic, interdependence, belonging.

This is the stuff that leads me to want to practise my therapeutic work outdoors. I believe that modern life in my culture has artificially separated us from the rest of nature. That healing requires connection, that wholeness comes from being part of our wider worlds.

It’s hard to explain. It’s easier to experience. And having experienced it for myself at some tough times of life, I want to share it with others.

You can find out more on my counselling practice here.

Or at my Counselling Directory entry, where you can also book a free discovery call.

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Counselling and forest bathing: An update

I woke to snow this morning. A bright day with moisture droplets sparkling on the lime trees opposite my house. A cold day with the thermometer down to 14C in my living room. And I have turned to my to-do list, as is appropriate for that January feeling of new beginnings, putting things into place while I wait for a hint of spring in the air. Today that meant a bit of light painting as I prepare to sell this house and then the search for a suitable room in which to meet therapy clients.

That’s the big news. I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling at Staffordshire University and I’ve gone on to begin my Masters research with them. I primarily want to work with clients outdoors, bringing all the healing of nature into the work. But even I understand that torrential rain or gale-force winds may not be conducive to therapeutic conversations. So I’m looking for a room to hire for when we’d rather have a comfy seat and a roof.

I didn’t quite know what would happen to my outdoor work – as a forest school leader or as a forest bathing guide – when I began the counselling course. I knew something might have to give but tried to keep it all up to begin with. But I wasn’t really prepared for the overwhelming emotional toll of the course, of the depths of personal reflection and exploration involved. (I’ve since realised I’m probably a highly sensitive person, which explains why I felt that so strongly. See Elaine Aron’s website and books for more!) Forest school work naturally dried up and although I could have gone looking for new sources of work, I let it go. I miss working with children in the woods and I’d love to have the occasional opportunity to do so again. I don’t miss working within school bureaucracies or having a car full of musty tarps and firewood so much.

Forest bathing

My initial model of offering forest bathing sessions or my ‘Forest School for Grown-Ups’ sessions was difficult to manage. They are of necessity small group activities. But that means I often found myself as the dates approached worrying if I would have enough participants. I hated the couple of occasions when I had to let down those who had booked because there just wouldn’t be a big enough group to make it work. So for now I’ve switched this to a bespoke service people can commission me to provide. I can offer individual forest bathing, or tailored sessions for small groups – friends, families, social groups, businesses looking to help staff with self-care and nature’s route to creative thinking. More info here.

Counselling

And in my new role as a counsellor I am offering people the chance to take their therapy outside and benefit from all that nature can offer us. This is a fairly new practice for counsellors that is really starting to become more popular – but it’s also an ancient practice in which we recognise that healing comes only in connection with the bigger world we are part of. For anyone who knows about counselling modalities, I’m person-centred with a dash of integrative. The focus is on providing a nurturing space in which you are fully heard and fully accepted as you are, without judgment. There’s more about my practice and the facility to book an initial inquiry call at Counselling Directory.

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Forest Bathing by Stealth

Forest bathing is really a simple idea – slow down, use all your senses to take in the natural environment, sit a while. But sometimes the biggest barrier to doing those things is that we feel we’ll look, frankly, a bit weird. There are those of us who don’t give a monkey’s what other people think, and oh how I aspire to be like that. But many of us can’t quite shake off that lurking self-consciousness. There is strength in numbers so joining a group event can help, but that’s not an option at the moment. So how can you get in some quality forest bathing time without people staring? By using stealth tactics to hide in plain sight…

1. Viewpoints: We expect people to stop to admire a big view. Head for high points, places where there might be a bench, a rocky outcrop, a ledge to sit on. In my local area, I’m thinking the benches at the top of Runcorn Hill or the viewpoint on Frodsham Hill, the rocky bits at Stenhills, the bird hides at Wigg Island. Take the chance to take in the expansive view, but while you’re there look close up at what’s around you. On the rocks at Stenhills today I found a luxuriant patch of moss dotted with sparkling water droplets, the in-your-face yellow of gorse flowers and the rustling dry leaves of a young oak tree.

2. Photography: A phone camera will do. Once it looks like you’re taking a picture, people expect you to stop and take time to compose the perfect shot. The trick is not to spend all your time viewing nature’s beauty through the lens. Use it to distract other people while you take things in more directly – the colours, shapes and textures you’re surrounded by. You could go a step further and take a sketch pad – the ultimate excuse to stop and observe in detail.

3. A brew or a snack: It seems normal when we’re out for a ‘proper’ walk in a beauty spot to take a drink and something to eat, to find a bench, a rock or a tree trunk to sit on and rest for a while. And I can see no reason why you can’t do this in your local area too (lockdown rules excepted – check the latest on picnics!). A hot drink, in particular, guarantees you some time to sit and relax while you wait for it to cool enough. You could always go hardcore and take a flask of hot water to make your own fresh nettle tea – expect questions from passers-by, but if, like me, you’re the only adult in your house, it can be nice to have a face-to-face conversation with someone. Anyone…

4. Litter picking: This is one I’m determined to do more of and I believe that if I contact my local council they will supply a litter picker and bags. If you’re litter picking, you will be slowing down and looking around you – just make sure you take time to take in the nice stuff as well as the rubbish. And doing your good turn for your community is on the list of mental health wins. Expect more conversations with passing strangers, but hopefully positive ones.

5. Take a child: Ok, not just any old child; you could get in trouble. At the moment, it will have to be your own if you can muster one up. The smaller the better. Small ones have no idea that a walk is about getting somewhere and will meander and get distracted by every bug and pine cone. And you can do the same, because everyone will understand that it’s the kid’s doing. Larger ones can become problematic but still provide a helpful foil. My son has just reminded me of when I lay down in a woody area at the National Trust’s Dunham Massey to look up at the sky through the autumnal leaves, to his utter mortification. He won’t be pleased to hear this, but I probably wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t been there.