Nature and Therapy

Recent decades have seen an increasing interest in the healing and therapeutic potential of nature and the perspective of various nature-based interventions for the benefit of mental health. The field of nature-based therapies is expanding in line with this interest. During the formative years of modern psychotherapy, several psychotherapists had a close, loving relationship with nature and who had contributed in some ways to the formation of nature therapy. One of them was Carl Jung, a renowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who was one of the first people in the field of mental health to voice concerns about the separation of men and nature. C. Jung believed that a modern man was in danger of losing all contact with the world of instinct, increased by his living an urban existence and separation from nature. Jung wrote in his diaries that the loss of instinct is largely responsible for the pathological condition of contemporary culture. To him, the archetype as an image of instinct is a spiritual goal toward which the whole nature of man strives. Jung was a man of complex spirituality who saw nature as a path of connection to the Divine. According to Jung, plants expressed not only beauty but also the thoughts of God's world, with an intent of their own and without deviation. The trees were mysterious. The woods were the places where he felt closest to the understanding of the deepest meaning of life. It is amazing that already 80 years ago, Jung contemplated a lack of meaningful leisure and described the symptoms of our modern stress with amazing accuracy. According to Jung, a modern person lives in breathless haste, craving for stimulation. Nature therapy is a holistic approach to psychotherapy, which has its core in the close emotional connection between humans and nature. A growing body of research demonstrates that many mental health problems are either triggered or exacerbated by a lack of contact with nature and are often helped by increased exposure to nature. Our detachment from nature is literally making us ill. Depression, anxiety, stress, restlessness, and/or a sense of meaninglessness are tied to a lack of engagement with forests, fields, flowers, rivers, lakes, oceans, and mountains.

When working with my clients, I try to explore their relationship/connection to nature. I often recommend a “healthy dose of nature”, which includes mindful walks in a forest, on a beach, or in one of the many beautiful parks we have in our area. Smelling the fresh-cut grass, touching the warm sand with your feet, tasting a wild strawberry, and listening to the gentle rustling of the autumn leaves brings you into the here and now, and grounds you in the present. Nature offers healing tools that are free and readily available to anyone who is looking to improve and sustain their mental health.