Nature Therapy

Many people find that spending time outside greatly helps with depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as promoting general health and well-being.

Nature therapy is slightly different from traditional therapy in that it takes place outside. It can be helpful if traditional therapy feels a bit daunting or intense — it can feel more like a “walk and talk.” Walking is often a powerful way to explore what’s going on for us; it helps process thoughts, untangle emotions, and spark new ideas. It provides movement, exercise, and a connection to our bodies, while also grounding us in the landscape. Rebecca Solnit famously wrote that “we think at three miles per hour.”

In nature therapy, we also work creatively with the natural environment, focusing on objects or phenomena that catch your attention. These can help you explore thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations that arise in response to what’s happening around you. It can be a more expansive way to work, where nature — as well as the therapist — provides the container for difficult emotions. It’s also incredibly special to explore and share this experience with another, as it opens up new avenues for self-understanding.

This work brings me such joy, as it combines my two greatest passions. Being in the natural world is where I feel most liberated, peaceful, and happy. I have a deep love for the sea — I swim all year round and enjoy diving during the warmer months. I also walk my dog, Izzy, every day through woods, coastlines, and beaches, and I love foraging and making things from what I find.

Why Nature Therapy?

Many of the problems we face today stem from the fact that we haven’t evolved to live the way we currently do — disconnected from the natural world in so many ways: in our homes, our food, our work, our free time, and our travel.

Erich Fromm once wrote:
“The soil, the plants, the animals are still man’s world, and the more the human race emerges from these primary bonds, the more it separates itself from the natural world, the more intense becomes the need to find new ways of escaping separateness.” In our separation, we often fill the gap with artificial stimuli that hijack our attention and dopamine reward systems — yet leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled.

Reconnecting with nature can help us feel more grounded, more interconnected, and less alone in the world. It invites awe, wonder, hope, and beauty. It tunes us into the rhythms of the seasons and the elements, which can help us make sense of and organise our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It encourages embodiment — getting out of our heads and into our bodies — and that’s where real change can happen.

Nature is also impassive. It doesn’t care what job we have, what house we live in, or who we are. We’re not competing, performing, or seeking validation. Nature offers something older, slower, and grander — a transcendent space. Building a relationship with nature can support us in our struggles and help us live more deeply, meaningfully, and reciprocally.

Practicalities

I offer therapy outdoors in East Lothian - either along the beach by the sea or through woodlands or a bit of both. If this is something you think might be of interest to you please feel free to get in touch. Before we begin our work outdoors we will firstly have a session face to face or online, this is a chance to discuss practicalities such as location so we can take into account any physical needs and accessibility as well as contracting to a more public way of working. There may be more discomfort involved as we experience the elements. It’s important to wear suitable shoes and clothing appropriate to the weather.

Jill Atkinson Therapy

Jill Atkinson
Therapy