Introducing new extended single-session ecotherapy
Working with nature to reconnect with your inner wisdom
What are these sessions?
They are one-to-one sessions combining my psychotherapy approach with invitations to connect and interact with nature. In contrast to regular counselling sessions, these might be taken as a one-off or as an occasional opportunity to check in with yourself. I’m offering them at Runcorn Hill or Frodsham Woods and Hill. They might suit you if you’re:
looking for a flexible approach rather than weekly counselling appointments,
have a particular issue you want to explore different perspectives on,
want to experience the healing power of ecotherapy for stress, anxiety, depression and loss,
feel you’ve lost sight of yourself, your values or your purpose,
want to explore your identity and your place in society and the wider world.
What might they look like?
A mixture of:
1. a counselling conversation,
2. noticing things around us that mirror your situation or provide new perspectives,
3. and engaging creatively with natural materials to explore deeper.
So we might dig into what’s going on for you and then notice how the trees, other plants, creatures and landforms around us contain wisdom for you.
Trees, for example, can remind us of the need for strong roots and flexible limbs, the connections they make with each other through mycelium, seasonal growth and rest patterns, our interdependence as we breathe in the oxygen they create. I might invite you to notice which trees you are particularly drawn to and to investigate their growth patterns, their textures, the creatures they host and what message they might hold for you. You might work with the shapes and patterns of leaves at their different seasonal stages.
Similarly, a broad view can give us a new perspective taken from a distance. We might explore what your gaze is drawn to and what meaning that might hold. The river below us can guide us – giving insights into how to flow around obstacles, or into the power it holds in its apparent softness. A choice of which path to take can mirror bigger dilemmas in life. You might assign different choices to different paths then walk them to find out how they feel.
What is ecotherapy anyway?
Ok, so there is no one accepted definition, but bear with me... I take an approach rooted in ecopsychology, which itself could be seen to be rooted in ancient ways in which humans interacted with their world. It’s a remembering that we are nature and that we have a place in the ecosystem. It’s about feeling into our interdependence with the world around us: the air we breathe, the water and food we consume, the elements that constitute our bodies. This makes it easy to understand how other beings in nature can mirror our own situations.
It’s not a particular belief system but I’ve worked with people whose beliefs range from strictly scientific to highly spiritual. (And if you look at the latest findings in physics the two start to sound very similar!) It is supported by research, which can tell us about things like the special kind of awareness people are able to access in natural environments or about the restorative effects of nature on the nervous system. It has links to Buddhism and mindfulness in fostering here-and-now presence and that understanding of interdependence. It links to shamanic wisdom, which is thought to have spanned all human cultures around the world through prehistory, of the ‘medicine’ nature can hold for us.
What’s the practical info I need to know?
The sessions are two hours long. The fee also includes a 30-minute phone or video call beforehand to explore what you want to focus on, your previous experiences in nature and how the natural environment might support your needs. The fee is £125 and payable on booking the phone call.
We can also have a free 10-15 minute phone chat to answer any questions you have and help you decide whether to book.
You’d need to dress appropriately for the weather and bring water or a flask and a snack as you require. You might choose to bring a notebook to capture insights. There are loos at the café at Runcorn Hill but no loos available at Frodsham Woods – though there are plenty of bushes. We would usually be walking quite slowly and can tailor that to your capabilities, and I’ll have sit mats and a picnic blanket or tarp for when we pause.
If particularly heavy rain, high winds or thunderstorms are forecast we would have to postpone for safety reasons – there is no extra charge for that.
What’s my next step?
If this deep connection with yourself and the world in which you belong appeals, or if you have any questions, email me at janinecounsellor@gmail.com and I’ll guide you through the process.