Description

Nature has always been a source of comfort, inspiration, and healing for people. Those good feelings of time spent in natural environments are becoming more well known for their mental health benefits and in response to that, therapists have begun to harness nature’s restorative capacity by challenging convention and offering therapy outdoors. This course is designed to explore the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to enhance client emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing.

In this course, students will learn about the theoretical foundations of nature-based therapy, the different types of nature-based interventions, and how to apply them in various settings. They will also explore the role of nature in promoting mindfulness, stress reduction, and overall health.

Throughout the course, students will learn how to incorporate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice. Students will explore what works for promoting change as well as safety and other considerations to this form of therapy.

By the end of this course, students will have gained an understanding of the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to promote healing and wellbeing. They will also have developed the skills, safety and knowledge necessary to integrate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice. The course includes tips for successfully promoting your nature based therapy offering to potential clients.

Who this course is for:

  • In this course, students will learn about the theoretical foundations of nature-based therapy, the different types of nature-based interventions, and how to apply them.
  • This course is designed to explore the therapeutic benefits of nature for counselors and how they can be used to enhance client emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing.
  • Throughout the course, students will learn how to incorporate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice
  • By the end of this course, students will have gained an understanding of the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to promote healing and wellbeing.
  • They will also have developed the skills and knowledge necessary to integrate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice.

1. Spend time outdoors on a regular basis. This can be as simple as taking a walk in a nearby park or spending time in your own backyard.
Being in nature has been shown to have numerous benefits for both your physical and mental health, such as reducing stress and improving your mood.

2. Incorporate nature into your life by bringing elements of the outdoors inside. This could include incorporating plants into your home or office space, as they can help to improve air quality and provide a sense of calm. You could also try incorporating natural materials, such as wood or stone, into your home decor to create a more earthy and serene atmosphere.

3. In addition to spending time in nature and bringing it into your home, you can also support efforts to protect and conserve natural spaces. This could include things like supporting conservation organizations, volunteering for local clean-up efforts, or reducing your own environmental footprint by reducing your use of single-use plastics and choosing products that are sustainably sourced.

4. Incorporate nature into your life by eating healthy, whole foods that come from nature into your diet. This could include things like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Eating a diet that is rich in these types of foods can not only improve your physical health, but it can also help you feel more connected to the natural world.

5. You can incorporate nature into your life by simply taking the time to appreciate and notice the natural world around you. This could be as simple as taking a moment to stop and watch the clouds passing overhead, or to listen to the birds singing in the trees. By taking the time to notice and appreciate the beauty of the natural world, you can help to foster a deeper connection to the earth and its inhabitants.

In our technological world, more and more children are spending time inside on devices and less time playing outside.  Spending time outdoors isn’t just enjoyable but it’s also necessary. Many researchers agree that kids who play outside are happier, better at paying attention and less anxious than kids who spend more time indoors.

Spending time in nature can build their confidence. There’s a lot less structure than most types of indoor play and they can choose how they interact with the nature around them. This gives them practice managing their own actions and encourages creativity and imagination.

Being outdoors can also teach them responsibility. For example, if they are in charge of watering a plant, they can learn that they must take care of living things to keep them alive.

Being outside gets kids moving, too. Regardless of what they’re doing, there’s usually more exercise involved than if they were sitting on the couch. Not only is exercise good for kids’ bodies, but it seems to make them more focused. This is especially helpful for kids with ADHD. Being outside also helps kids feel less stressed.

In the spirit of getting kids outside, here is an outdoor challenge for engaging boys in the natural setting. These tasks can simply be done in a backyard or at a park if needed.  Fire starting and foraging are omissions from this list for safety reasons. Good luck!

Learn to Tie the Bowline Knot

Knots come in handy for a slew of survival scenarios.  Tying snares, securing shelters, lowering equipment or yourself down a cliff face. Ideally, you should have an arsenal of knots, from hitches to bends to loops, in your repertoire. But if you learn only one, learn the bowline.

Build a Shelter

A shelter should be your top priority in a prolonged survival situation. To make a simple lean-to, find a downed tree/fence/rock resting at an angle, or set a large branch securely against a standing tree, and stack smaller branches close together on one side. Layer debris, like leaves and moss, across the angled wall. Lastly, insulate yourself from the cold ground–which will draw heat from your warm body–by layering four to six inches of debris to lie on. If branches aren’t available, get creative and improvise from stuff around your home.

Make a Solar Sill

Collecting water is imperative in survival situations. Try this method for getting water with the help of the sun.  For an idea of how to do this, see here for an example.

Navigating by stars

This one needs to be done at night in an area with minimal city lights.  To find the North Star (Polaris), which is the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. If you can find the Big Dipper, draw a line between the two stars at the outer edge of the constellation’s dipper portion. Extend this line toward the Little Dipper, and it will line up with Polaris. Face Polaris, and you’re facing true north. If there is a crescent moon in the sky, connect the horns of the crescent with an imaginary line. Extend this line to the horizon to indicate a southerly bearing.

Build a Bed

Find a dry area.  Frame your bed with rocks or logs (make this a bit bigger than you are). Plug cracks with moss, leaves, or bark. Gather dry leaves and other dry materials. Pile them into the bed until it bulges. Nestle into the leaves and keep a thick layer on the ground.

Strategies for Problematic Gaming

Video games have increasingly become the hobby of choice for many youth around the world. With more and more options of types of games, improving graphics, social connection and intense, engaging storylines, it’s easy to see why it’s become so popular with young people. With this increased prevalence, we’ve also seen the rise in issues related to overuse of video games. While it’s hard to define where the line between healthy use and unhealthy use is, there is a point where unhealthy use can be problematic. Here are a few tips for parents to consider when reflecting on their young person’s video game use.

Strategies for prevention of overuse

  • Promotion of healthy activities and hobbies
  • Sleep
  • Social “in person” interactions with family and friends
  • Time in Nature
  • Physical Activity
  • Anything that supports a strong parent-child relationship can be a protective factor
  • Be a role model for healthy technology use

Setting Healthy Limits:

  • Connecting with your child
  • Positive reinforcement of good behaviour
  • Be positive with your child as much as you can.
  • Working with your child to set boundaries on use and discussing the reasons why
  • Setting limits that include increased responsibility of use. One day they will need to manage their own use so anything we can do to prepare them for this will help.
  • Setting consistent boundaries and having systems built in to support this. (For Example: Timers, Wifi controls, etc)
  • Limit recreational technology on weekdays. Many parents will limit video games on school days, while allowing them on weekends.

Managing Problematic Use:

  • Limit wifi access. For example, turning this off at night or during set periods
  • Change the wifi password daily.
  • Consider removing controllers or cables when your youth will be unsupervised
  • Consider removing devices completely.

What needs is your child meeting through video games?

  • Is your child trying to keep occupied? Find healthy activities and people.
  • Is your child looking for social connection? Find other ways to connect socially.
  • Is your child looking for adrenaline and excitement? Find ‘adrenaline’ sports such as mountain biking, kayaking, etc. to meet that need.
  • Is your child looking for others to validate and accept your child? If so, find responsible adults that can help your child feel accepted.

Treatment

Family participation is so important when considering, planning and implementing change in the problem gamer’s life. Family members can keep young people on track and support that positive change that may be needed in their life. Treatment can occur in multiple ways from working with a counsellor or psychologist in the community or by doing residential treatment where the youth would be at a facility for a given period of time. Therapists use various types of interventions and treatments depending on the situation such as the following.

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): CBT is a therapy that helps people look at their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
  • Motivational Interviewing: Motivational interviewing helps look at a patient’s readiness for change and explores ambiguity around their willingness to change problematic behaviours.
  • Family therapy: Excessive video gaming can impair family relationships, and family interventions seek to improve relationships between the child/youth and family members.

Treatment goals may include:

  • Helping the child/youth to find other activities and people to meet the needs that the video games meet. It can be helpful to explore what needs are being met by the video games. Is it a social need? Or is it a need for dopamine/adrenaline? Or is it a need for achievement?
  • Finding other ways to give adrenaline/dopamine, such as time in nature or physical activity.
  • Finding other ways to have social connection, such as with family or friends.
  • Finding other ways to give mental stimulation, such as reading, learning, or other hobbies.
  • Treating any other mental health conditions that the person has. People with excessive video gaming may have other conditions such as substance use problems, depression, anxiety, ADHD.
  • Addressing any other significant life stresses that the young person may have. The person may have troubles coping with family stresses. Or stresses with bullying and peers. Video games may be a way of escaping and coping with stresses.

What is Nature-Based Therapy?

Humans’ disconnection from nature seems to be an ever increasing global challenge as our world becomes more technologically advanced and urbanized. Theories from evolutionary psychology, such as the Biophilia Hypothesis, argue that early humans were immersed in the natural world for millions of years and that a detachment from nature seen in modern humans is a source of psychological distress. The therapeutic properties of time spent in natural environments are becoming more well known and in response, mental health therapists have begun to harness nature’s restorative capacity by challenging convention and offering therapy outdoors.

What is EcoTherapy?

Ecotherapy is the name given to a form of experiential therapy that incorporates counselling interventions in the natural world to improve the client’s growth and development. There are wide ranges of treatment programs, which aim to improve mental and physical well-being through doing outdoor activities in nature. Examples include nature-based meditations, physical exercise in natural settings, horticultural therapy, adventure therapy, conservation activities and nature-based therapy.

What does Nature-Based Therapy look like?

The concept of Nature-Based Therapy combines the inherent benefits of being in nature with a benefits of a therapy session with a trained counsellor. Nature is viewed as a healing partner in the counselling process. The outdoor environment has the ability to encourage different affects in relation to internal worlds. For example, a wooded forest can feel comforting to some while to others this might symbolize a fear they are challenged with. While different therapists will conduct a Nature-Based sessions differently, the concept is similar. This could look like a walk and talk session in a natural setting to applying metaphors from the natural environment to their current life situation.

Benefits

Nature-Based Therapy is an effective means to boost mental wellness and has many psychological, physiological, and social benefits. The psychological effects of therapy in nature include lower blood pressure and research shows that exposure to nature will have profound impact in the decreasing of cortisol levels which can lower stress levels. As well, research also points to increased resilience, improved self-esteem and increased capacity to engage socially with other members of their community and society at large. Natural light, fresh air, exposure to trees and plants seem to improve many people’s outlook on life in a positive manner. One positive aspect of a Nature-Based approach for when an individual is depressed involves how people often retreat into indoor spaces, isolating themselves from the world around them. Using nature based therapy can help people to receive the benefits of being outdoors while still engaging in therapy in a less intimidating environment than a traditional office setting. The calming effect of nature makes it the perfect backdrop for a counselling session.

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Imagine being outside with a blue sunny, sky while you feel the soft snow beneath your skis and you feel the wind on your face.  Any one that downhill or cross country skis will tell you that skiing makes you feel healthy and happy. But while the physical benefits of being outside in nature and skiing are obvious, it has only been in recent studies that science have proved that the mental benefits of snow sports are just as valuable. A study led by Stanford University found that city dwellers have a 20% higher risk of depression than rural residents and a 40% increased risk of mood disorders. 

No stranger to finding creative ways to connect people to nature, Heather Hendrie is a Squamish based clinician who offers Ski Therapy in addition to her regular clinical practice. As an avid skier, former ski instructor and outdoor guide, Heather hopes to add ski therapy sessions to her suite of offerings this winter.  Heather became interested in the healing power of nature through her healing journey, where nature provided great relief and a sense of perspective leading her to pursue a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counselling, specializing in Wilderness Therapy.  Ski therapy seems a good fit for Hendrie, who made headlines when she created the “Lifts of Love” event in Banff.  An annual singles speed dating event held at Mount Norquay. It follows naturally that she’d take her therapeutic work to the chairlifts and groomed trails.   I caught up with Heather to discuss this interesting form of therapy.  

What is Ski Therapy? 

Heather describes Ski Therapy as a playful, Nature Based  way to connect with a therapist while moving one’s body.  The therapeutic process is at work while breathing fresh air, taking in the surrounding scene and engaging in bi lateral movement that is proving to support significant reductions in the levels of both bodily distress and emotional stress. These combined emotional physical and physiological benefits could make ski therapy a real 2 for 1 type practice, and ideal for people who’d like to try a novel approach in therapy. 

Where do you offer Ski Therapy? 

Heather hopes to offer sessions through maintained cross country skiing trails at the Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley.  Making this therapeutic modality accessible to more people is currently a passion of Heather’s, as skiing has historically been such an exclusive pursuit. 

Do you need to know how to ski?

While Heather’s background is as a guide and instructor, the focus of ski therapy is healing and relief from symptoms, rather than the technical aspects of the sport. 

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What theoretical approaches do you use? 

Heather applies a Transpersonal, humanistic, mindfulness-based, experiential approach to her work, inspired by such leaders as Rogers, Maslow, Van Der Kolk and Peter Levine.  

How do you manage confidentiality with others around? 

Confidentiality looks different outdoors than when sessions are conducted within the confines of an office, but fortunately, the field of therapy is increasingly being de-stigmatized. That said, Heather mitigates any concern in this area by always addressing consent and confidentiality with a client before beginning work together.  

 

Interested in learning more about Ski Therapy? Check out https://heatherhendrie.com/