Natural, gentle healing through deeper connection with the natural world
There’s no doubt that we always feel better when we’re out in nature. When we leave our noisy and stressful city or suburban lives and take a trip to regional or rural areas, we always come back refreshed. And there’s a good reason for that.
The natural environment has amazing healing properties. Personal and environmental wellbeing are not separate things. In fact, we are very connected with and affected by the natural environment – probably far more than most people realise.
Therefore, connecting and harmonising with nature on a deeper level can improve your health and wellbeing. When you actively engage and increase your awareness of nature, the healing properties of nature can amplify and deepen.
Eco-psychotherapy can help resolve some of the issues that currently concern you, like anxiety and depression, and give you more peace in your daily life.
Our psychotherapist, Kim Shade, will guide you gently to experience this deep connection that leads to natural healing.
What is eco-psychotherapy?
Eco-psychotherapy is a nature-based psychotherapy that can help you make necessary and lasting changes to improve your life, and give you extraordinary health and wellbeing.
As humans, we’re not isolated or separate from our environment. In fact, we can actually gain many mental and physical health benefits from our natural world.
If you answer yes to any of these questions, eco-psychotherapy could help you:
- Do you have a sense of life moving too fast?
- Are you disconnected from your purpose?
- Are you disconnected from the people you care about?
- Do you struggle to take a deep breath?
- Do you feel fatigued even when you get enough sleep?
- Do you have a constant sense of loneliness even though you have good relationships?
- Do you feel like something is missing in your life, but you can’t articulate what it is?
- Do you feel addicted to technology or other habits?
- Do thoughts race through your mind constantly?
- Do you feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities?
These thoughts and feelings are common in our highly scheduled, technology-filled lives. But you don’t have to be trapped by them.
Benefits of eco-psychotherapy
The ultimate goal of eco-psychotherapy is to find a deeper connection to yourself through nature and improve your life forever.
There are so many benefits to doing a psychotherapy session in the natural environment. Being in nature gives you the opportunity to:
- develop a sense of peace
- let go of constant thoughts and busy mind
- develop a deeper connection with nature
- awaken your senses to new experiences
- appreciate the importance of preserving nature
- let go of habits and compulsions
- develop an appreciation for slowing down in nature
- develop a deeper relationship with yourself
- feel rejuvenated and energised
- consider how to create balance in your life
- narrow the gap in your separation from nature, so you’re more comfortable with nature-based experiences.
About your eco-psychotherapy session
In your eco-psychotherapy session, Kim will work with you to explore the subtle and deeper aspects of nature’s expression in local bush settings. She will open up all your senses to what you hadn’t previously seen or recognised.
You’ll become more conscious of the cycle of life around you – smelling, touching, feeling, listening, tasting, and sensing the natural world.
Kim will find the perfect location for your session. She will meet you somewhere that has good access to a natural setting, where you won’t be disturbed.
In the session, she might use a range of nature-based, experiential activities including:
- expressive reading and writing
- grounding practices
- drawing
- movement and walking
- using all the senses
- being still
You just need to bring yourself, an open mind and a willingness to engage.
Curious about results with eco-psychotherapy?
At Sydney Strategic Therapy, Kim is passionate about helping clients recover quickly and gently from anxiety, trauma and the overwhelm of daily life.
Through nature-based psychotherapy, she can help you connect deeply to the natural world and create a happier and more fulfilling life for yourself.
If this is all new to you, then you probably have lots of questions. Just book in for a free 20-minute consultation where Kim will answer all of them.