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
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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.
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of America’s most influential architects that has left a legacy of structures that are collaged with Nature (Mead, 2014, February). Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, has left a legacy of tranquil spaces hidden within parks that are known for their “picturesque” qualities (Mead, 2014, January). These two men are completely different with the designs that they’ve created simply because they are using different mediums, but ultimately there aren’t a lot of contrasting elements to their designs. The similarities are evident when you begin to look at their main priority when designing; mental health and wellness. With health and wellness as a mutual focus it is easy to find that they had complementary design influences, theories, and design principles. To create a design that successfully helps to soothe the mind they both found that Nature is the best tool to use. This tool is now their unique contribution to design history, and as a result it stands out as something that today’s designers want to mimmic when focusing on mental health and wellness.
Have you noticed that we feel a powerful desire to connect with nature during difficult times? Whether we are injured, depressed or sad our inclination towards nature increases. Patients in hospitals recover faster if they are in a room with a nice view. Why? Because nature is so pure and powerful that can restore our spirits and heal our bodies and minds. The beauty of nature has been praised in art, poetry, writings and films. Naturalists, poets and writers have documented the many benefits of spending time in nature. "Calypso Borealis" by Muir and "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by Wordsworth are two great pieces of literature where our hearts are filled with an indescribable emotion. John Muir and William Wordsworth express their relationship
Many have said nature is the best medicine for the soul. Have you ever noticed the simple bliss and purity nature holds? Never competing, never degrading, never giving up the purity it holds. Nature can keep its blissful purity untroubled in the moment not convicted by what all society has brought into this world. Furthermore, many find nature as their safe place, the one place they can go too and no one can interfere with their happiness. John Muir and William Wordsworth noticed
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
"Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or morning piece." (Emerson, 388) The cave gave them the sense of relaxation and freedom to discover themselves. Some people go out into nature to disconnect and clear their mind others go to seek answers whatever it may be but it does change an individual. "The surface of the earth is soft and impressionable by the feet of men; and so with the path the mind travels." (Thoreau, 407). Some might see it as if one were running away from problems but it is more as if one were to come back to view it with clear refreshed eyes.
Many years ago, people saw the wilderness as a savage wasteland, but today, it is viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth.” (Cronon) He discusses this changed point of view by stating the difficulties that society will have rectifying environmental ailments if it stops viewing wilderness as “a dualistic picture in which the human is completely outside the nature.” (Cronon) This is understandable because humans rely on others to create opinions, and they do not know how to form their own thoughts and solutions to issues such as environmental ones. Therefore, it is with great importance that humans begin to learn how to formulate their own thoughts and share those personal thoughts with others, such as sharing solutions about environmental
“We’ve always known that spending time in nature is good for us, but now we have real evidence that spending time in the forest, specifically, can create measurable changes in our bodies and minds that have a significant effect on out health”. As introduced by Story in the aforementioned quote, this is the subject of what will come to be known as Forest-Bathing. Colleen M. Story is a “northwest-based writer, editor, and ghostwriter… and specializes in the health and wellness field. Coleen is the founder or Writing and Wellness”. On July 2nd, 2014, and article by Colleen Story titled “Want to Prevent Cancer? Take a Walk in the Forest- Studies on ‘Forest Bathing’” was published on the Renegade Health blog. Her work is meant to provide
Everyone has emotions and everyone deals with them differently. The psychologists in Japan have been more clinically correct and culturally sensitive to use psychotherapy techniques for dealing with depression. When the western markets came into their territory, the markets slowly began to manipulate the Japanese. In contrary, the people of that country might be getting more help from their psychological immune systems by not changing the way they label their feelings than they do with the medications. Animals who are constantly disrupted by humans have the ability to get tempered and show this anger through aggressive behavior. Elephants who have been taken away from their families and homes go through the most traumas and as the emotions start to build up, one day it will all just trigger. We cannot just sit back and watch these animals while they go through such distress. We know we have to help these animals without disrupting their environments. We can do so by psychologically healing these animals. Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, and to heal. It has been said, “time heals all wounds.” I
Richard Louv, the author of, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature deficit-disorder,” talks about nature and its benefits to a healthy development. Time Experiencing with nature allows people to have healthy development since it promotes creativity and imagination. It does not take more than a couple of steps outside to see nature. It is all around us. It can even be right outside our window. Leaving the blinds open can bring peace of mind, just by viewing it. As people experience time with nature, no matter the age, they develop greater creativity and imagination. It is like people today fear nature.
Many practices across the globe have strict prohibitions against having any intimate relationship with any sort of client. Mixing emotion and intense connection between that of a therapist and a client is extremely dangerous. If anything, negative were to occur during said relationship, things such as suicide or loss of will to succeed will come into fruition. Abstaining from personal relationships like these limits any negative fallouts per said realm of dual
There are countless differences and similarities between the behaviors of the paleolithic people and the people of the twenty-first century. While the people of the Old Stone age lived in dark caves filled with nothing but cold wind, people today live in houses and apartments built with air conditioning system and readily accompanied furniture. The prehistoric people are able to find comfort by staying in caves that prevent them from the dangers of the wilderness while people of the modern time find comfort by being at home, not exactly because it is safe, but because they can relax to their hearts’ content. Although both places have completely different appearances in terms of a place for shelter, humans that live in these places can stil...
Mary Oliver's (Clinebell, 1996, p.188) poem has a lot to say about the relatively new approach to conservation called ecopsychology. Ecopsychology combines the human element from psychology, with the study of how biological systems work together from ecology. A more in depth explanation of ecopsychology is that it seeks to help humans experience themselves as an integral part of nature (Strubbe 1997). When this is accomplished, humans can proceed to commit to "helping heal the earth, as well as healing ourselves" (Strubbe 1997, p. 293). In the past, environmental action has consisted of scaring and shaming those who over consume or do not recycle, which proved to be quite ineffective. Ecopsychology, in contrast, attempts to create positive and affirming motivations, derived from a bond of love and loyalty to nature (Bayland, 1995). Before tackling the principles, religious aspects, therapy, actions and education included in ecopsychology, it is essential to unde...
...l as a number of techniques that can be used with clients and can also be applied when using other forms of therapy. REBT is applicable to the outdoor setting and can also work with clients in individual, group, family, or couples counseling. Because of REBT’s short and effective use, as well as its ability to be applied to many forms of therapy, especially in the outdoor setting, I have chosen it to be my theoretical orientation at this point in my Adventure Therapy career.
The nature of this relationship between humans and their environments has long been the subject of academic debate. Many scholars, from the Greco-Roman era until the late eighteenth century, believed one’s environment predominantly dete...
No matter how much research is done, it is obviously known that humans will never be able to fully understand the phenomenon of the natural world, yet it is something that we still continue to explore and work with each and every day. As The Red Turtle simply explains to the viewer, nature is something that is full of chaos and unpredictability, yet it is beautiful in it’s own way and worth exploring. In today’s world of the twenty-first century, it is quite easy to see that humans are dominating the natural world. Mainly, I believe that nature is a big provider for our health and happiness, but in order to sustain this relationship, the human population must also provide for the natural world and keep the common peace.