Human beings are a part of nature. We have a deep and important need to connect with the natural world – her beautiful trees, birds and rivers. The ecosystem desperately needs our appreciation and care too.
Ecotherapy as a term covers a very broad range of activities whose common element is mostly, but not entirely, that they are intentionally beneficial to mental health and that they involve going outdoors. Beneath this very broad umbrella, we can include counsellors and psychotherapists who choose to see their clients outside, but also a wide range of mental health activities from therapeutic horticulture to wilderness retreats; meditation in nature to creative work with story and art.
Join Caroline Brazier and Stephen McCabe from Tariki Trust – a Buddhist organisation who offer ecotherapy training programmes – for this two-hour workshop introducing ecotherapy. The workshop will include a presentation as well as some experiential activities that you can do from within our without your home during the session.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
To understand the field of ecotherapy.
To learn some simple nature-based exercises that you can share with clients.
To discover ways of incorporating nature into other therapeutic work.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
Everyone: people who work with others in any kind of helping capacity can benefit from this workshop, as well as for your own wellbeing.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
By offering tools that can be incorporated into their personal or professional practice.
Course Content
Presenter
Author of seven books on Buddhism and psychotherapy and many papers and articles, Caroline holds an MPhil in counselling, diplomas in counselling and groupwork and a supervision certificate. She is a BACP Accredited psychotherapist. Caroline originally trained as a teacher and has worked extensively in education, health and with women’s groups. She has been a teacher and is an ordained Jodo Shinshu Buddhist priest (Japanese Pure Land Buddhism). In the past she has taken a special interest in eating disorders and more recently in ecotherapy. Caroline has three adult children.
Caroline set up the initial Ten Directions ecotherapy training course in France back in 2011. It has continued to grow ever since, with Caroline’s involvement being key at every stage.
Caroline is a member of the core Ten Directions team.
Stephen McCabe is an ecotherapist, tarot reader, counsellor and ordained Zen Buddhist. His work includes tutoring for the Ten Directions ecotherapy training programme, facilitating nature groups in Scotland, Tarot Therapy work and running wellbeing groups based on myth and folklore. He is currently working on his first (nature-infused) novel.
