Ecotherapy takes root
A dose of nature
By Saisie Moore
Photos by Kelly Sink, unless otherwise noted
Corie Washow. Photo: Rob Schulz, Resonant Photography
AN AVERAGE WORKDAY takes Corie Washow through the Freeport Conservation Land Trust trail network, into diverse forest and wetland habitats and alongside streams that feed into the Harraseeket River before spilling into Casco Bay. But she isn’t the steward of this landscape. Instead, the trails act as a kind of office for Elemental Counseling, a private therapy practice with a focus on ecotherapy. Forget the therapist couch—during these sessions, you’re in the great outdoors.
“Ecotherapy is a practice that includes the relationship between humans and the Earth as a focus for reflection and growth,” says Washow, who initially got her degree in environmental education and subsequently began a career in social services. She saw the opportunity for a connection between human services and the natural world but felt there was no obvious bridge to get there. “It felt like something was missing,” she says, explaining that ecotherapy seemed like the confluence of these two disciplines. She pursued a master’s degree in counseling at Antioch University, while concurrently obtaining a certificate in ecotherapy from a program in California, then launched Elemental Counseling in 2019 to offer outdoor therapy sessions. Clients can expect all the same services as traditional therapy, but Washow believes the interaction with nature and the landscape adds a dimension to the experience that can develop resilience, connection and a sense of calm.
A broad term that describes methods of nature-based healing, ecotherapy, sometimes called nature therapy, is still a fledgling practice in the United States—though in many cultures, a belief in humankind’s essential connection to nature is nothing new. In the modern landscape of America, ecotherapy feels like a logical response to our increasingly digitally saturated lives: an attempt to remind ourselves of our place in the natural order.
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, teenagers now spend up to nine hours per day watching or using screens. And recent polling indicates the average U.S. adult will spend the equivalent of 44 years in front of a screen during their lifetime. The interconnectedness of our online existence can be dizzying and relentless.
Ecotherapy, Washow says, can reconnect clients with the cyclical rhythms of life, a process that she finds particularly effective with clients suffering through grief. “Over time, you often become more aware of yourself as part of the natural world, of living through changing seasons, just like every other animal and natural being.”
In recent years, the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku filtered across through media outlets to describe the practice of “forest bathing.” The term gave shape to the idea of spending time in nature for physical and psychological health benefits. Ecotherapy combines this practice with talk therapy, drawing on examples from the earth to understand human nature better.
“Shame is omnipresent in human culture,” Washow says. “But I find people able to offer more compassion to themselves knowing that they aren’t all that different from a tree or an animal. They’re simply doing what they can inside a much bigger system.”
There’s more to ecotherapy than time spent outside. Washow hopes the sessions instill in her clients a duty of care toward the habitats and non-human entities that have nurtured their recovery. “I focus on the importance of reciprocity,” she says.
“There needs to be a sense of balance in the relationship. Both humans and the Earth need each other to be whole.”
For those searching for solace in nature, the ever-present threat of climate change’s impact can add its own existential weight. On Mount Desert Island, the EcoPsychology Initiative, launched by psychotherapist Dennis Kiley, hosts classes on Climate Psychology Training that include examinations on the mental and emotional impact of climate change on individuals and organizations. “People gravitate toward our programming because it touches not only on the profound psychological effects of climate change but how we can be empowered to deal with these impacts,” Kiley says. “We also examine how we can apply psychology to have the greatest impact in our communities around climate action.”
Out on the Freeport trails, Washow acknowledges the dichotomy of finding solace in a threatened environment. “We can’t ignore it. It helps to face it alongside someone else. I find it poignant and useful to explore the trauma of climate change out here, to hold both things together.”
And, she adds, “Even in a dark moment, it’s always beautiful out here.”
The nature network
Elemental Counseling
elemental-counseling.com
Corie Washow reconnects her clients to nature and to themselves through one-on-one outdoor therapy sessions in Freeport.
Art of Healing Emotions
artofhealingemotions.com
Karen LeVasseur LCSW, a recently relocated practitioner from New Jersey, is experienced in child and teen therapy. In addition to hypnosis and The Emotion Code techniques, she offers walk-and-talk sessions and ecotherapy in Harpswell and Brunswick.
Spirals of Wellbeing
spiralsofwellbeing.com
Longtime holistic health and well-being guide Jen Deraspe offers a variety of workshops and retreats that incorporate the healing power of nature, including “Canoe Coaching” conducted while paddling Maine’s waterways.
Stillness Kitchen
stillnesskitchen.com
Five immersive weekends of foraging, nature therapy, yoga and much more held from May through September in Newcastle, led by artist and Certified Forest Therapy Guide Susan Bickford and fellow artist and plant polymath Rachel Alexandrou.
Lillian Harris Counseling
lillianharriscounseling.com
Lillian Harris, a clinical mental health counselor “incorporating creativity, mindfulness, Earth and body-centered modalities,” offers outdoor sessions and eco-based therapy on public conservation land around Yarmouth.
EcoPsychology Initiative (EPI)
ecopsychologyinitiative.com
Led by founder and psychotherapist Dennis Kiley, EPI programs aim to “cultivate healing and regeneration” through the “principles of psychology and nature.” Classes include Climate Psychology Training developed to help environmentalists overcome the psychological challenges of climate change and become more effective advocates.
Hearty Roots
heartyroots.org
Hearty Roots, a youth development initiative in Lincoln County, offers outdoor adventure programs that focus on mindfulness and social-emotional learning alongside traditional outdoor skills such as hiking and camping.
On the cover: Mushers and their dog teams on the course of the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog race in Fort Kent, Maine.