Ecotherapy Case Study

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Introduction
Ecotherapy is an amalgamation of the ideas of ecopsychology and psychotherapy. At its core, ecotherapy claims that personal human distress can be alleviated by developing a connection with nature. It can include a variety of techniques from “horticulture therapy, wilderness excursion work, time stress management and certain kinds of animal-assisted therapy” (Chalquist, 2009). In the emerging sub-field it is often acknowledged that human emotional ailments come from the industrial world in which we live. Humans are evolutionarily wired to react and respond to nature in a way that manmade settings are not currently fulfilling. This disconnect is what allows many mental illnesses to thrive. It is not suggested that a reconnection …show more content…

As it turns out, this has been the case for some time; ecotherapy is a relatively new term for a much older practice. During the early days of psychotherapy “it would not be unusual for Freud to analyze his patients while walking through the streets around his home in Vienna,” (Jordan and Marshall, 2010). The stereotypical couch in the therapist’s office did not come until later in the history of the practice. With both the therapist and client participating in the reciprocal relationship with nature, it can create a much different atmosphere and therapeutic experience. Seasoned ecotherapist Patricia Hasbach recounts that, “by meeting in a space that is neither the therapist’s nor the client’s, the shared situation provides an opportunity for a co-created therapeutic experience,” …show more content…

While on the surface it may appear that moving therapy sessions into nature can do nothing but benefit the client and perhaps the therapist as well, is there empirical evidence to support this claim? The APA adopted a policy statement that says in part, “clinical decisions should be made in collaboration with the patient, based on the best clinically relevant evidence, and with consideration for the probable costs, benefits, and available resources and options,” (APA, 2005). This means that interventions used should have the research to back them up and all available options should be considered. This puts those wanting to seriously consider moving psychotherapy into nature in an interesting position, as the research currently in the field is weak and lacking. There is not much evidence based research done on the subject for or against at the current moment. Only a wealth of theoretical discussions and writings on personal anecdotal evidence, which both can be valuable but to an extent. While these are great building blocks for the budding of a new idea, the only way to be considered seriously is to have the structured data to back up the claims. This has been noted in the field of ecotherapy as a whole as well. As Marguerite O’Haire of Purdue University notes, “research of the quantitative effects of nature-assisted practices is quite limited.

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