Ecotherapy Scotland
Techniques for using time outdoors to heal anxiety, depression, suppressed trauma and PTSD
Update, Spring 2022
Now that restrictions in Scotland are easing we are beginning to run day workshops in our local woodlands again. We are also looking to train new volunteers to work in their local communities to enable everyone to access one of the most powerful trauma recovery methods there is.
Many people have found that the trauma and isolation of the pandemic, plus the situation in Ukraine, plus the climate crisis and increasing difficulties brought by the rising costs of living, have made life a great deal more stressful than before. Also, our many NHS staff clients will be in even more urgent need of ways to cope mentally with what they are experiencing now. Therefore I would like to explore ways to help individuals and groups bring nature healing into their own communities, through online discussion groups and my new outdoor 'Nature Immersion for Wellbeing' sessions for those who are able to get to Dumfries and Galloway. Please contact me for details. Costs will be kept to an absolute minimum and we will work as a team to help others who need this.
Now that restrictions in Scotland are easing we are beginning to run day workshops in our local woodlands again. We are also looking to train new volunteers to work in their local communities to enable everyone to access one of the most powerful trauma recovery methods there is.
Many people have found that the trauma and isolation of the pandemic, plus the situation in Ukraine, plus the climate crisis and increasing difficulties brought by the rising costs of living, have made life a great deal more stressful than before. Also, our many NHS staff clients will be in even more urgent need of ways to cope mentally with what they are experiencing now. Therefore I would like to explore ways to help individuals and groups bring nature healing into their own communities, through online discussion groups and my new outdoor 'Nature Immersion for Wellbeing' sessions for those who are able to get to Dumfries and Galloway. Please contact me for details. Costs will be kept to an absolute minimum and we will work as a team to help others who need this.
De-stressing in Nature
The 21st century is a tough place to be. The pace of life, the stresses and pressures - and the sheer amount of 'stuff' that comes at us daily - is wearing a great many of us down. It is known that 2020 was the year that depression became the second most common cause of disability in the world, just behind heart disease. Goodness knows what that figure would be now. And of course the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, global warming and escalating living costs have greatly compounded mental health problems and eroded our sense of security and wellbeing to an unprecedented degree.
Even without a pandemic, depression, anxiety, illness and overload are all around us The very technologies that are supposed to make life easier can actually have the reverse effect, making our blood pressure soar and creating feelings of frustration, guilt or emptiness if we're not constantly 'busy'. Who hasn't felt the desire to throw the printer at the wall?! Fiery sadly, few of our children, let alone adults, can cope with more than an hour away from their mobile phone. Social media and television bombard us with commercially-driven images of the 'ideal' body or lifestyle, creating unrealistic expectations and, when they're not met, dissatisfaction and insecurit ensue. And our fears about the future of our planet and other species fuel these conditions. Graphic reporting of floods, bush fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and drought brings the traumas suffered worldwide right into our homes on a daily basis. But we're not condemned to keep coming under more and more pressure until we break, either physically or mentally. There is an alternative way to live, there are strategies get your life back and opportunities to take responsibility for your own wellbeing back into your own hands. Ecotherapy-Scotland has run woodland-based courses and workshops in southern Scotland for many years but now we feel that our world situation is critical. We have concluded that we need to get our life-changing methods and philosophy out there to everyone, now that participants are no longer able to travel to be with us here. And we want much of what we share to be freely available to all. So here goes! |
What is Ecotherapy?
Deep in the make-up of every one of us is the potential for a powerful connection with the natural world. But in the buzz and clamour of modern life we often lose that connection...and with it, our ability to keep our health and happiness in balance.
Much of the time we don't realise what we've lost, but the signs are there: tiredness, feeling overwhelmed, bouts of feeling low, anxiety attacks, niggling ailments, backache, headaches, gastritis...and, finally, illness and depression. Yet spend a few hours out in the wild and our senses begin to adjust, to attune to the sounds, sights and smells around us. Learning to walk quietly, getting close to wild creatures and coming to know the many useful plants that abound everywhere, even in towns...unless you've tried it, you probably don't realise just how relaxing and satisfying it can be. Ecotherapy, sometimes called Nature Therapy, is now used by many health professionals. It's powerful, effective and profoundly enjoyable and is now becoming well established and respected in the UK. The video below gives an insight into how it can be incredibly beneficial for those suffering from depression or other mental health problems. |
Using Nature for Inspiration, Creativity and Inner Contentment
Ecotherapy can be simply making time to engage with nature, by gardening, doing arts and crafts outdoors or learning to relax and de-stress properly, or it can be a well-researched and skilfully delivered learning and personal development experience, long or short.
For many years we have worked with people of all ages in the outdoors, using carefully orchestrated interactions with the natural world to help people contact their inner natural being and learn for themselves how to de-stress whenever they need it. Ecotherapy is especially effective for working with young people, especially those on the spectrum or who have experienced difficulties learning, socialising or finding what inspires them in life. If you're working with a young person, you need to build up their trust step by step and use incremental experiences that will engage them, rather like balancing stone on stone. |
You Don't Need a Wilderness for Wellbeing
You might think that because you live in a city or town that there is nowhere you can get valid nature experiences. In fact, many individuals, plus health professionals, carers, teachers and managers are learning how to use any available local space, be it park, waste ground, canal side or footpath, even a balcony or window box, to bring short but very powerful positive and calming experiences to boost wellbeing. We can show you how.
Take a journey...A tumbling river crashes over the rapids and then becomes a series of pools and rills, where fish can be seen darting under the tree-lined banks. Dippers, kingfishers and herons fly by and even otters appear from time to time.
Not many of us have places like this that we can easily access. But through meditation you can learn to drift away to a secret oasis of calm and pleasure in your mind, and to switch this ability on when needed. |