When last did you allow yourself to spend quality time in nature? How often do you get into the outdoors and away from the fast-paced, naturally-disconnected, modern lifestyle? Can ecotherapy be a great tool to help bring people back to health in an ancient and forgotten way?
In this podcast episode, Lisa Lewis speaks about embracing nature to cultivate a deep connection in the face of a meta-crisis with Linda Buzzell.
Meet Linda Buzzell
Linda Buzzell is a psychotherapist who has specialized in ecopsychology and ecotherapy since 2000. In 2009 she and Craig Chalquist edited the Sierra Club Books anthology Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind, now a core text in clinical ecopsychology. She is on the Editorial Board of Ecopsychology, the peer-reviewed journal in the field, and is Adjunct Faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, where she teaches online courses in ecopsychology and ecotherapy.
Visit Ecopsychology and connect with Linda on Facebook and LinkedIn.
IN THIS PODCAST:
- What is ecotherapy and ecopsychology?
- Working in ecotherapy with a client
- What is the meta crisis?
- Modern people still need the wilderness
What is ecotherapy and ecopsychology?
Ecopsychology is basically the study of the human-nature relationship, or the human relationship with the rest of nature, and the nature inside of ourselves.
Linda Buzzell
Ecopsychology is concerned with the human-nature relationship, and ecotherapy is the field that is focused on healing the human-nature relationship.
Ecotherapy heals our relationship with nature itself both within us and around us, because it’s all one big connection.
In many cultures, this connection – or relationship – has been forgotten or pushed aside, even though our relationship with nature impacts so much of our lives.
Working in ecotherapy with a client
There are many ways to bring ecotherapy into the therapeutic process with a client, such as:
- Nature walks
- Walking in a local park or a more wild nature reserve
- Practicing movement outdoors
- Working with animals
I bet a lot of people already realize how therapeutic it is to have a companion animal, to be able to really connect with that animal. It’s a profound relationship, and a very ancient relationship.
Linda Buzzell
Almost any activity that encourages a person to have a more intentional and conscious reconnection with nature can bring huge mental and physical health benefits.
It has now been proven by scientific studies that spending intentional time in nature has huge benefits for every aspect of a person’s health and well-being.
What is the meta crisis?
It’s basically the mixture of all these different crises that are hitting us all at once. There’s the climate crisis, all kinds of ecological crises, social, economical, and now we’re in war crises! I mean, there’s a whole lot of crises going on simultaneously … And what’s the best way to deal with that?
Linda Buzzell
What Linda suggests to people is that they take their needs seriously and that everyone takes quiet time in nature, and make intentional space for their mental health in a place that supports their peace of mind.
Every person is impacted, either directly or indirectly, by some of the crises that are happening in the world at the moment.
So, finding new and effective ways of coping with stress so that you can find the best-fit solution is imperative, and even more so when it comes to finding the right communities because having groups of people for support is also invaluable.
Modern people still need the wilderness
Most of our Western society has evolved away from the outdoors, and even though this may be normal, it’s not the healthiest route for our physical and mental well-being.
Having to live mostly indoors, working long hours, and forcing ourselves to live outside of our “natural” human cycles is very recent in the scope of our existence.
Only in the last hundred years has this become our society, when human beings have lived in and close to nature for thousands of years before.
I don’t know why we think we’re somehow magically different from any other animal, but we need the outdoors. We need the habit that we evolved to be part of, and somehow recently we’ve begun to forget that … Now it’s gotten even worse when we’re in the electronic era.
Linda Buzzell
Electronics are of course a huge milestone for human development, but they should not become our default. It would be better for people to utilize electronics while still prioritizing time in nature.
There is a balance to be found between being a modern person and still allowing our bodies and minds the necessary peace that comes from spending free time outdoors.
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
BOOK | Linda Buzzell – Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind
BOOK | Jeanine M. Canty – Returning the Self to Nature: Undoing Our Collective Narcissism and Healing Our Planet
BOOK | Andy Fisher – Radical Ecopsychology – Psychology in the Service of Life
Visit Ecopsychology and connect with Linda on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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CONNECT WITH ME
Email me: lisa@amiokpodcast.com
ABOUT THE SENSITIVE IN NATURE PODCAST
So you’ve been told that you’re “too sensitive” and perhaps you replay situations in your head. Wondering if you said something wrong? You’re like a sponge, taking in every word, reading all situations. Internalizing different energies, but you’re not sure what to do with all of this information. You’re also not the only one asking yourself, “am I ok?” Lisa Lewis is here to tell you, “It’s totally ok to feel this way.”
Join Lisa, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as she hosts her, Am I Ok? Podcast. With over 20 years of education, training, and life experience, she specializes in helping individuals with issues related to being an empath and a highly sensitive person.
Society, and possibly your own experiences, may have turned your thinking of yourself as being a highly sensitive person into something negative. Yet, in reality, it is something that you can – and should – take ownership of. It’s the sixth sense to fully embrace, which you can harness to make positive changes in your life and in the lives of others.
This may all sound somewhat abstract, but on the Am I Ok? Podcast, Lisa shares practical tips and advice you can easily apply to your own life. Lisa has worked with adults from various backgrounds and different kinds of empaths, and she’s excited to help you better connect with yourself. Are you ready to start your journey?