Ecotherapy is a nature-based therapeutic approach that recognises our deep and reciprocal relationship with the Earth. It invites us to reawaken our connection to the more-than-human world; plants, animals, elements, seasons, landscapes, as vital to our health, wellbeing and sense of belonging.

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Informed by diverse Indigenous knowledge systems, ancestral wisdom, depth psychology, deep ecology, and eco-centric worldviews, ecotherapy challenges the Western notion of separation between humans and nature. Instead, it views us as part of an interconnected web of life, with the Earth not just as backdrop, but as co-participant in our healing and transformation.

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Ecotherapy can take many forms - from guided time in nature, to nature-based artmaking and storytelling, to rituals, mindfulness, and sensory awareness practices. It can be done outdoors in natural settings or brought indoors through creative, symbolic and imaginal processes that reconnect us with the living world. At its heart, ecotherapy helps us remember that we are not separate from nature, but of it.

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Some of the well-known benefits of spending time in nature include:

• Reduced stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue

• Improved mood and emotional regulation

• Increased resilience and capacity for coping

• Enhanced creativity, imagination, and problem-solving

• A sense of calm, awe, and connection to something greater

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In an ecotherapy setting, these benefits can be deepened through intentional, therapeutic processes, supporting:

• Reflection on personal patterns, stories, and relationship to the natural world

• A greater sense of belonging - to self, to others, and to nature

• Opportunities to safely express and process eco-anxiety or grief

• Restoration of hope, meaning, and purpose

• Reconnection to innate strengths, values, and a felt sense of being “at home” in the world