Nature Therapy in Sussex
Nature-based therapy, coaching & counselling to support your well-being – with Mark Reeves, Dip, MA
Outdoor Therapy in Stanmer Park, Near Brighton
Would you like to have your therapy or counselling sessions outside in nature? Nature-Based Therapy in Sussex provides a deepening of your connection to nature and offer a different level of connectivity, depth and embodiment to conventional indoor therapy. Sometimes known as ecotherapy, outdoor therapy or walk and talk therapy, when we go out into nature our surroundings become an active element within the session, opening up our senses, and helping us reconnect with our self.
When we open to nature as a teacher and let it be the guiding principle in the session it can be powerfully restorative and healing to our life as a whole. It can involve walking and talking or just sitting in one spot to have the session. You may be invited to participate in some sensory awareness exercises such as Forest Bathing, using breath, touch or physical exploration of the surroundings to relax your nervous system and help you to feel more present and grounded.
Nature Therapy in Stanmer Woodlands within Stanmer Park, about 10 minute drive from Brighton. There are also buses that go directly to Stanmer Park from Brighton.
Nature-Based Therapy enables a fully embodied reconnection to the land and to ourselves. It helps us return to a state of inner balance and wholeness.
Nature Therapy in Sussex For Our Well-Being
Part of my motivation and inspiration to offer nature-based therapy in Stanmer Park, Sussex comes from the work of Beth Collier and the Nature Therapy School.
“Human health is dependent on a healthy relationship with nature. When disconnection occurs our sense of well-being will suffer. Many people today have lost a sense of belonging to the natural world, therapeutic work in allegiance with nature helps to address the traumas of disconnection, processing loss, and repairing dissociative relationships with nature.” Beth Collier
Walk & Talk Therapy in Sussex
Nature-Based therapy, sometimes known as walk and talk therapy or outdoor therapy takes place in and with nature, providing a theoretical framework for ongoing psychotherapy practice, establishing a modality which;
- takes place in natural settings
- works at relational depth in and with nature
- explores the clients’ relationship with nature in addition to the exploration of their human relationships
- practices an ongoing relationship between client, therapist and nature
- exposes clients to the health-promoting qualities of nature
Quoted from the Nature Therapy School website
Nature-Based Therapy in Sussex – Session Structure
A nature-based therapy session can take several different forms, sometimes we will simply sit together in a quiet spot, or we may spend the time walking, and it may often be a mix of both of these, depending on what you are wanting or what we are both sensing is needed.
You may wish to talk, just as you would in a more conventional counselling/therapy context and there may also be natural pauses or time spent in silence. There may be more emphasis on what is happening in the present moment, your connection to the environment and what that feels like and what this activates and awakens within you or you might just need to share about the things that are happening in your life, relationships, work, etc.
The interplay between our inner world and the external environment often becomes more apparent within the context of nature-based therapy. Other therapeutic elements can be brought in including inner somatic sensing, visualisation, inner child work, etc.
Mark Reeves Dip, MA is an integrative psychotherapist, coach and nature-based therapist who has a particular interest in how nature offers us healing and can guide us back to our own true nature within. As well as offering Ecotherapy in Brighton and Sussex he also runs groups, workshops and retreats in various locations exploring our personal growth and self-awareness. He loves creating opportunities for people to be real and authentic, opening themselves to discover more of who they really are on all levels. As well as being a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist he has trained with Nature & Therapy, completing a diploma in Nature and Forest Therapy. He has completed the foundation training in Nature Allied Psychotherapy with The Nature Therapy School and the Threshold course in Ecopsychology and Nature Based Practise with The Natural Academy.
FAQ
How can nature improve mental health?
Feelings of calm, joy, creativity and relaxation emerge from being connected to nature. It helps us gravitate back to a sense of balance. Research has shown that spending regular time in nature can help people feel that their life is of value. Time spent in a mindful way in nature also helps lower depression and anxiety and can also lower blood pressure. Research also suggests that nature-based therapy helps people to overcome social isolation and have more confidence in social situations, reducing the sense of loneliness or alienation. It’s not so much that nature helps the therapeutic process but being in nature is itself the therapy.
How does outdoor therapy help heal trauma?
As we open our senses to the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of being in a forest or natural woodlands our nervous system can start to relax and settle into a calmer state. The fight/flight mode can start to soften as nature invites us to be still and to connect with the present moment. Nature can hold us in it’s wide embrace, enabling us to feel safe enough to open to our pain bit by bit, without becoming overwhelmed. As we breath in the smells and atmosphere we can relax more deeply into our inner being and the trauma can gently be released.
How does nature help grieving?
Nature has a spacious and holding capacity. It doesn’t judge us and seems to offer a deep acceptance of us as we are. I have found that people often feel freer to open to the feelings of loss that they are experiencing and to start to let them come to the surface in a forest or natural setting more easily than in a room. The wind can seem to blow through us and assist in the process of emotional release. The rain washes away what is no longer needed and can feel cleansing. The sunshine can nourish, support, warm and nurture us and the earth receives and absorbs all that we express. Even during grief we see that there is beauty all around us and this itself can be healing. The natural environment is constantly in a state of change and renewal and can powerfully remind us of the nature of impermanence but also the endurance and continuation in new forms. As the seasons change we realise that our grief may also be shifting and going through different stages. Nature powerfully reminds us that there is no hurry and that everything is in its own time according to natural cycles. This is something we have to surrender to and we cannot force or rush things. Returning again and again to nature as a therapeutic container and a teacher can gradually help us to face our grief and all of our pain and trauma in a way that is manageable and healing.
How does nature help with PTSD?
Ecotherapy in Brighton offers the opportunity to be immersed in nature whilst having the therapy session. Opening our senses to the smells, sights, sounds etc is very soothing for our whole being. One of the symptoms of PTSD is a heightened startle response and hypervigilance, meaning that we are constantly on guard and very rarely feel a sense of safety. Severe trauma can also leave us feeling disconnected from our body and the world around us. Spending time in nature, especially when engaging in nature-based therapy or forest therapy has been shown to help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, inducing feelings of calm and emotional regulation. This can help us feel safe enough to start to reconnect with our body and its feelings and to rediscover a sense of belonging and connection with the environment. Nature therapy can help you feel safe with the overwhelming feelings when the traumatic memories and emotions surface.
You can send a message to get in touch or call me on +44 7944 312741, or you can book a free 30-minute introductory session.
Nature-based therapy, ecotherapy and forest bathing in Sussex.