Ecopsychology | Ecotherapy | Nature Connection

Why Wilding Psychology?

The simple answer is that I believe psychology needs to be a bit wilder! Many of us feel intuitively that time in natural spaces is good for us, and there is a wealth of evidence demonstrating the links between nature, health and wellbeing. The health of our planet is intrinsically linked to the health of its inhabitants, yet mainstream health services often remain disconnected from our most important life support system. My experience has been that psychology services are no exception to this, and can sometimes be a bit stuck in traditional models of treatment that don't fully account for our relationship to the natural world or the environmental contexts we are living in.

Ecopsychology considers how humans have evolved to thrive in intimate relationship with nature. With more conventional western psychology largely focussed on the individual psyche, ecopsychology offers a lens through which we can understand psychological problems associated with a societal-level disconnection from nature.

Through Wilding Psychology I hope that more people can be supported to develop their connection with themselves, others and the more-than-human world, for the benefit of personal, community and planetary health.

Joining the dots

Much of western society continues to promote and normalise lifestyles that are disconnected from nature in pursuit of economic growth and personal gain, which has been to the detriment of both human and ecosystem health and wellbeing. Ecopsychology can help us understand both why and how we can feel nourished in nature, nature's capacity for helping us heal, why as humans we have become so disconnected from nature, and the environmental and social problems this leads to.

From an ecopsychological perspective, we can understand distress within the social and environmental context, and attend to a person’s entire being, understanding that the mind, body and environment are connected.

Nature connection close to home

Living in a city, it's not always possible to get into big, natural spaces where feelings of being immersed in nature come easily. But this doesn't need to be a barrier to finding connection with nature! I love finding small bits of wild in urban spaces, and discovering ways to connect close to home. In my NHS work I am often supporting people to connect with nature while they're in hospital, and gathering a range of creative ways to bring nature in when it's hard to get out.

Wilding psychology is also about bringing nature connection opportunities close to home to support our wellbeing, and experiencing that we don't always have to get into the wilderness to strengthen our relationship with nature.