Understandings about the beneficial effects of nature on human well-being have prompted the development of different forms of nature-based therapies to help people heal, develop, and thrive. While nature is the key construct differentiating nature-based therapy from more conventional therapeutic approaches, the way nature is integrated into a practice varies greatly depending on ideology, target population, and main objectives. This study focused on how practitioners in the field of nature-based therapy (NBT) experience, perceive, and work with nature to address therapeutic goals.
Twenty-six nature-based practitioners with different professional backgrounds from five countries participated in in-depth interviews about their therapeutic processes in nature. Each interview – lasting from 1.5 to 2.5 hours -- was taped and transcribed. While the interview responses were the main source of data for this study, field observations were also conducted during six nature-based workshops in Europe and the United States. Data collection during the workshops involved extensive field notes and memo writing.
Analyzing the data included a search for “units of meaning” and led to the identification of four major categories: (a) a basic belief that nature is actively influencing the therapeutic process; (b) the practitioners' relationship with nature and its role in the therapeutic process; (c) the practice of working with nature so nature's input is acknowledged and integrated intentionally; and (d) creating the conditions for the clients' engagement with nature as a resource. The fourth category included five main methods of intervention: creating safety and trust; facilitating internal and external awareness; teaching new ways of knowing; role modeling and invitation; and helping clients in meaning making. These methods “describe what the practitioners do intentionally so that nature's input is acknowledged and mediated to the client as significant to the therapeutic process.”
Nature-based therapeutics are generally understood to consist of professionally facilitated interactions in the context of nature (plants, animals and natural landscapes) to promote human health and well-being. This study adds to the literature by providing a new understanding of the role and significance of nature in NBT – that of nature as not only a context, but an active influence on the therapeutic process.
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