Many aspects of our lifestyle separate us from the natural world: busy work and study schedules, more and more time spent on screens, artificial lighting immunising us from the natural daily cycle of the sun. Human usage of nature has compromised the life support systems and ecosystems of countless species and is posing an ever growing threat to human health and survival.  

 

Yet despite this disconnection, nature is all around us - in the sky, in the plants that pop up through the cracks in the pavement, in our indoor plants, our animal companions.  To begin to heal we must lift our heads and pay attention, and reconnect with our allies in nature.

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Ecotherapy focuses on healing the dysfunctional relationship between humans and nature. It looks beyond how we can merely 'use' nature to feel better (taking our daily vitamin N to avoid Nature Deficit Disorder), and moves us towards a reciprocal circle of healing that tends to the needs of both humans and the rest of nature. A crucial step is to acknowledge that what happens to the rest of nature happens to us - and vice versa.  The seeming 'other' whose presence brings healing is as worthy of care and tending as we are ourselves. As the boundary between self and 'nature' begins to dissolve we return to respectful relationship, and move towards regenerative ways of living that are sustainable for future generations.

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In making this reconnection we can experience healing within the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances that impact our quality of life.