Training & Experience
- Forest Bathing and Natural Mindfulness Guide
- Qualified Advice and Guidance practitioner
- Certificate in Disassociation and Trauma
- Student of the Diamond Approach since 2008
- Certificate in Psychosyntheiss Counselling from the Psychosynthesis Trust, London
- Trained in Mental Health First Aid
- Ecotherapy mentor at an urban nature reserve (previous)
- Manager of a training and advisory project for vulnerable people (previous).
- Manager of a sustainability training project for students (previous).
- Nearly a decade of experience supporting and mentoring young people and adults who experience enduring mental health difficulty.
Ethos
With the support of nature I offer you techniques, time and space to open up your senses, gently supporting you to feel more relaxed. By gently connecting with nature and with your inner experience, you can start to feel more present, alive, and expansive. This differs from the the perspective of our minds where life can often seem dull and repetitive. We can’t always change our circumstances, however, feeling refreshed and enlivened can support us to cope or to see life afresh. Often it’s possible to experience the same set of circumstances from a different position, simply by refreshing our senses. My sessions offer an intuitive approach however they are based on a huge and growing evidence base about the benefits of nature connection and emerging models for how to apply this. You’re welcome to contact me for more information about what happens in a session.
Nature-informed
Through my Ecotherapy work at St Nicks nature reserve in York and from my Mindfulness in Nature guide training, I’ve spent several years absorbing the latest research about the health benefits of nature connection including that about shinrin-yoku from Japan, known as forest bathing in the UK. See my Blog and Nature Connection section for more details about this. Of course nature can be the greatest teacher! Whilst the evidence base about nature connection is exciting and informative, the direct experience we have in nature is always fresh, alive, and can bring us insights, health benefits and awareness that we are not expecting.
My approach
I offer you nature inspired techniques such as mindfulness practices and sensory practices to support opening up your senses. This can support you to be in the present moment, being in the forest also supports being in the now. Not to escape from the realities of life, but to address them from a stronger and more expansive place. I guide you and give you space to share your experience. You might be surprised by how quickly you can feel alive and restored.