For current ecotherapy offerings, click here.

In days of old, in villages all around the world, initiation rites ensured that men and women could learn to live in sacred reciprocity with the natural and spiritual world. Rites of passage supported individuals in developing their own gifts, necessary for communities to endure and thrive. These old ways have largely fallen away, and the pace of contemporary culture is now faster than ever. Deep down we remember our ancient relationship with the vast bowl of stars and the great winds of change. In the struggle to resist gravity’s pull and grow ever sun-wards, we ache for the chance to blossom. We live for the days when we can bear fruit, and finally, to return our seeds to earth’s fertile darkness in support of life’s renewal. Deep down we remember that we are not separate from these rhythms of life, we are part of it all.

The rapid spread of technological advancement is keeping us comfortably within walls. We are wired, living in our heads and externally oriented. We are anxious to keep up the pace, and depressed when we cannot. Human nature separated from body and from earth creates dissociation, neurosis, fear, isolation, and a sense of meaninglessness. For many, nature has become a wild and frightening place to be avoided. We have forgotten our original nature.

As applied ecopsychology, ecotherapy is a practice of healing that aligns our human selves with the natural world. It is a way of returning to our roots, as indigenous peoples have for thousands of years. The intent of ecotherapy is to restore our human nature towards a more grounded, vital, soulful relationship with ourselves, the earth, and our people. As a staff member of EarthWays, I offer wilderness-based Rites of Passage programs to the general public. These programs draw upon pan-cultural traditions and are suited for our contemporary lives. Whether through a course, an aspect of psychotherapy, or a full-length Wilderness Vision Fast, come be supported in reclaiming your deep and unique human gifts through the mirror of nature.

For current ecotherapy offerings, click here.