The Human-Nature Relationship
“We have positioned ourselves as beings with interiors who view exteriors, and how these exteriors were positioned as something intrinsic to the selves who view them.” – Martin Jordan
As I delve into my research, I’ve found an increasing attachment to these blogs and the topic of ecotherapy. What does one do when they want to learn more? Google it. Second step? Buy a book. I decided to read Nature and Therapy: Understanding Counseling and Psychotherapy in Outdoor Spaces by Martin Jordan. That’s right. I read 163 pages full of ecotherapy goodness. Within those 163 pages were other studies that added to my research. Check it out.
What’s Ecotherapy Again?
In my first blog post, I explained the basic idea of ecotherapy, and since then, I’ve wondered why anyone should practice ecotherapy instead of cognitive-behavioral therapy (the standard doctor-client relationship). While each person you meet will have a different opinion, my personal opinion is rooted in my own passion for environmentalism. I believe that the lack of natural interactions have distanced humans from nature and quite possibly have added to our daily stress. I definitely have benefited from cognitive-behavioral therapy, and I think ecotherapy is best paired with the former: this way, the relationship becomes doctor-client-nature. Within his book, Martin Jordan provides a few theories of why this dynamic works so well.
3 Theories Why Nature is Good for Our Well-being
The Biophilia Hypothesis
Edward Wilson (1984) asserts that humans instinctively seek a connection with other life forms in order to develop our identity/personal fulfillment. Wilson speculates that nature affects our emotional, cognitive, aesthetic, and even spiritual development. Biophilia means “love of life or living systems,” and Wilson speculates that we are biologically programmed to engage with other life forms (Jordan 9).
Attention Restorative Theory (ART)
In their book The Experience of Nature, co-authors Rachel and Stephen Kaplan believe that the natural environment can restore attention. Being in natural environments involves a different cognitive functioning called “soft fascination.” For nature to be effective, the individual must 1) be away from work, 2) have access to complex ecosystems, trails, and/or paths for exploration (Jordan 10).
Psychoevolutionary Theory of Stress Reduction
Roger Ulrich (1984) compared the recovery of patients who had a view of a blank hospital wall with those who could see trees from their hospital beds. After researching for ten years, Ulrich found that patients who could see trees from their window had shorter hospital stays. He believes that the visual properties of natural environments, such as complexity, depth, and variety, and the presence of water, positively affected the patience, calmness, relaxedness, pleasantness, and fascination (Jordan 10).
These three theories lay the foundation on which Jordan structures his book. Nature is beneficial because it 1) reduces stress, 2) restores attention, and 3) promotes well-being.
So, should we live in the wilderness?
Not exactly. Jordan and I both agree that lack of a mind-nature connection can harm well-being of the self and the environment. Ecotherapy is important because it reconnects humans to nature in a way that fosters appreciation and respect, thus cultivating a passion for environmentalism. Some researchers, like Kidner (Jordan 14), believe that the increasing rates of depression correlate with the decreasing rates of natural stimulation. Kidner goes farther to say that “individualization and the materialistic value system leaves us…with an increasing sense of anxiety and depression.” To some extent, I agree. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to get up and live in the wilderness. Instead, I believe that we should incorporate nature into our lives a little more.
Ecotherapy and Its Many Branches
In the second chapter, Jordan begins listing the different forms of ecotherapy.
The Natural Growth Project (Linden and Grut 2002)
The natural growth project refers to psychotherapy with a gardening context.
Nature is a medium for communication and a source of healing within therapeutic work. Within this practice, metaphors and themes arise from gardening: plant growth/personal growth, pulling weeds/getting rid of unnecessary thoughts, and so on. Linden and Grut believe that hard work can engage others who feel rage or trauma, and activities like gardening can teach patience (Jordan 31).
Nature Therapy (Berger 2006)
Nature is a co-therapist. It allows the mind to meditate in a free space vs. a room owned and controlled by a therapist for the purpose of therapy. This is a more democratic space for therapeutic work. Berger also believes that nature can serve as a strong metaphor (e.g. rainstorm) for clients to discover. Family similar to the Burns model below.
Nature-guided Therapy (Burns 1998)
In George Burns’ model, therapists would ideally assign their client a task that involves interacting with nature, particularly focusing on the five senses. Burns believes that sensational experiences can trigger emotional experiences. Why? Because 1) nature is engages with our attention, simply because it’s complex and changing (e.g. no two sunsets are the same), and 2) nature engages with our senses, which draws the clients attention to their inner-being. Like Kidner, Burns radically believes that modernity’s emotionally deadening effect on the psyche and the senses may be at root of some mental health problems (Jordan 33-34).
Adventure and Wilderness Therapy (Richards and Peel 2005)
The recent notion of adventure and wilderness therapy is most commonly used with youth. From my personal knowledge, I know of several Adventure Leadership courses that empower at-risk students to focus on self-efficacy and self-care. Common activities such as kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, and possibly a scaling a high ropes course. The main idea is that the participants become aware of how the outer world relates to the inner world, or the self (Jordan 35).
Scandinavian Healing and Rehabilitation Gardens (The Swedish University of Agricultural Science)
The Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden built a two-hectare health garden on its campus. Gardens were developed to aid those in their recovery from stress-related disorders with the assistance of trained psychotherapists and psychiatrists (Sahlin et al 2012). The green space was divided into different areas with various characteristics and structures, in order to meet the merging needs and moods of participants during their rehabilitation. The people could thus roam the gardens freely and tailor their experience (Jordan 37). Activities included mindful meditation (which could be walking around and thinking intentionally), tending to the gardens, or learning about the inner workings of the ecosystem. Again, this is where the garden metaphors are useful.
Art Therapies: Symbols, Aesthetics, and Emotional Expression (Robbins 1994; Tiberghien 1995; Kastner 1998)
Psychotherapist Robbins believed that art was a medium for emotional expression, which is a therapy in itself. Tiberghien and Kastner, however, spurred the land art movement, which explores the aesthetic quality and reconnective power of nature. Quite literally, this art therapy requires the client to use raw, natural materials to create their art. Jordan elaborates on a couple other art therapies, like dance and drama therapy. These forms of art therapy rely on the idea that nature holds many symbols and metaphors that clients can use to express themselves.
Ecotherapy is a Tailored Experience
Jordan realizes that ecotherapy isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” therapeutic approach. In fact, it can take many forms and can be customized to the needs of the client. He splits them into ‘Participation’, ‘Projection’, and ‘Personal/Transpersonal’ practices. Here’s a short-n-sweet list:
Participation (active or passive participation) (Jordon 59–66)
Walk and talk therapy
- Usually individual therapy
- Walk in nature, talk with a therapist
Extended wilderness trips
- Often a group of people (group consensus, eat together, share stories, share camp duties)
- Some believe the wilderness triggers deeper psychological experience and connection to the earth
Mindfulness processes in nature
- Can be both a client or a group
- Focus attention and awareness on where they are
Engagement with the senses
- How do they feel inside, and how does the environment affect them?
Projection (indoors or outdoors) (Jordon 67–70)
Art Therapies and Nature
- Can be either individual or group therapy
- The client(s) project their emotions by using nature and art as a combined medium.
- The individual brings the thoughts in their head into the tangible world.
- Heavily relies on nature as a symbol, metaphor, etc.
Personal/Transpersonal Process (The Spiritual/Existential Therapy) (Jordon 70–71)
- Likely individual therapy
- Embodies the notion that nature gives us life and existence (i.e. we are connected)
- Can be spiritual or existential – “This is much bigger than me.”
- How does nature play a role in our lives?
- May focus on nature’s seasonal cycles and the idea of birth, growth, death, and renewal.
Build Your Own Relationship With Nature
If you made it this far into my blog post, you must be seriously interested in nature and the idea of ecotherapy. I highly encourage you to create your own relationship with nature by taking the inspiration from Jordan’s book. I actually practiced a few exercises that Jordan kindly provided instructions for. Below are my favorites, while the last two I have actively completed. I’m hoping to do the Four Shields Exercise during the summer – updates to come.
Four Shields Exercise (Jordan 127–128)
“Place four stones or objects on the four compass directions: north, south, east, and west. Starting in the south, move around the four directions exploring that resonates with you the most strongly (you can choose to walk between directions e.g. north and south, or around all directions). Walk with a deliberate intent to be open to what you experience. When beginning the walk, mark a gateway or threshold to step through, stating that everything that happens beyond this has meaning for you. When you finish the exercise (one or two hours) step back through a threshold to end the process. Write down what you have experienced, your thoughts, feelings, and associations. Here are the directions:
- South – the season is summer, the stage of life is childhood, the psychological processes associated with this direction are embodiment, play, creative, and sexuality.
- West – the season is autumn, the stage of life is adolescence, the psychological processes associated with this direction are introspection, self-doubt, our shadow aspects, where conflict may exist.
- North – the season is winter, the stage of life is adulthood, the psychological processes associated with this direction are responsibility, providing for others and ourselves, parenthood, finding a career or path in life.
- East – the season is spring, the stage of life is elderhood, but also rebirth (because this is a circle), the psychological processes associated with this direction are wisdom, spirituality, transcendence, enlightenment, and also healing.”
Mindfulness Exercise (Jordan 126)
“Choose a favorite natural spot. Sit and become aware o your breathing and begin to notice your in-breath and your out-breath. Become aware of the contact your body is making with the ground, and your posture by sitting, lying, or standing. Notice how your clothes make contact with your skin. Then begin to take your awareness to the sounds around you, in your immediate environment. Then take your awareness further outwards, notice sounds that are far away. Then return to noticing your breathing and if thoughts begin to come into your mind, return to your breathing.”
For me, this exercise helped calm my racing thoughts and simply be in the moment. Even after a long day stuck in classes and in my office, I felt more focused and cheerful. I did my homework without procrastinating until the morning, which was a personal triumph. 10/10 would meditate again.
Creativity in nature exercise (Jordan 128–129)
“Choose a particular theme that you want to explore in your life, for example, your relationship with your parents/partner/child, or feelings of loss or sadness, work or career, etc. Choose a natural location, for example the ocean. Go out with the intent to find or create something to represent this theme in your life. You may choose to stay in one spot and explore your feelings and thoughts through engagement with the materials creating some representation of this. For example, you may use stones and driftwood found on the beach and place them by the water’s edge, exploring their relationship with the waves and the incoming/outgoing tide. You may bring back a range of natural objects that represent your theme and talk about this with others or write this up in your journal.”
This exercise was difficult because it took more time and effort to complete. However, I’m very satisfied with the product: a personal essay. As a writing major, I actually enjoy essays, especially ones where I can use my imagination. ‘Forest Bath’ explores the concept of Ecotheray and how Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing, can be therapeutic. I focus on themes of nature in my favorite landscape, the Redwood Forest. Here’s the link!