Introduction to Nature Therapy: More than a Walk in the Park

Presented by: Becky Robbins, LMHC, MA, LMHC, CEAT, CYT, NBT

This Introduction to Nature Therapy:  More than a Walk in the Park workshop allows participants to become  familiar with nature-based therapy, specifically, what is involved in a  “walk-and-talk” therapy session outdoors in a natural setting.  Participants will become aware of the legal and ethical considerations  necessary to provide this option for client sessions. Participants will  learn the key concepts and significant benefits of providing therapy  sessions outdoors, in a natural setting, complemented by using  expressive arts modalities. The presenter will also teach how these  approaches connect through a polyvagal lens.

Participants will learn what it takes  to provide ethical, impactful, confident, and competent therapy for  clients in an outdoor natural setting. The presenter will teach  participants how to include expressive arts modalities and somatic  awareness techniques into nature therapy, as these techniques will be  interwoven throughout this daylong experience. Experientials will be  facilitated to aid participants in their own embodied experience of a  session in nature. Participants will leave this course ethically and  legally prepared to facilitate an outdoor, nature-based therapy session,  understanding the client appropriateness (what clients are a good fit  for this type of therapy), location considerations (parks, trails,  beaches, weather conditions, parking, etcetera), and critical skills  needed for facilitating a helpful walk-and-talk session outdoors  (multidimensional awareness, various approaches to facilitation, and  safety considerations). Participants will leave this experiential  workshop feeling confident and inspired to offer a more integrated  clinical approach than they thought possible!

OBJECTIVES:

• Consider legal, ethical, and documentation implications for doing nature-based therapy outdoors.
• Identify important considerations for specific populations.
• Understand the legal and ethical considerations of practicing nature-based therapy in a walk-and-talk session.
• Describe differences among ecotherapy, nature-based, adventure-based, and wilderness therapies.
• Identify key concepts of ecotherapy and nature-based therapy
• Assess who to work with and when,  where to go and why, and what to expect and consider in various regions  and environments when using nature-based therapy.
• Understand the therapist’s identity in nature-based versus ecotherapy practices.
• Introduce common types of nature-based approaches into walk-and-talk therapy sessions.

Lodging  Options: If you are coming to the area from out of town, several  lodging options are available, including staying at the ONE Center. For  all lodging accommodation options, please see our Lodging page.

Continuing Education Credit Hours: 6 CEs | $175.00