Nature therapy can promote resiliency and trauma recovery in children

This paper addresses the prevalence and impact of trauma on children and presents an overview of nature therapy and ways in which it can provide both restorative and preventative benefits for children experiencing adversity. A case study, along with several other examples of how trauma-informed nature therapy helped individual children, is included.

Trauma-informed nature therapy utilizes the healing elements of engaging in the natural world. This form of therapy differs from traditional trauma therapy in that it capitalizes on multisensory multisystem involvement of the body versus relying on talk therapy and cognitive processes. Nature therapy is typically conducted outdoors and led by a licensed mental health professional who looks to nature as a co-therapist in the process of healing. Engaging with nature allows the client to experience a wide range of whole-brain whole-body experiences which can promote a unique set of coping skills, including empowerment, strength, and confidence. Trauma-informed nature therapy is known “to calm the limbic system, enhance the prefrontal cortex, expand the support network, provide opportunities for physical mastery, and promote the reconstruction of the trauma narrative.”

The case study featured in this paper focuses on a young girl who was raped at the age of 15. The experience left her feeling ashamed, alone, and unlovable. One of her behavioral responses was to isolate herself from others, including animals that had always been an important part of the beloved lakeside farm where she lived. Once other-than-human elements were included in the therapeutic process, Anna became fully engaged in her therapy sessions. Nature-related therapeutic activities included interactions with the therapist’s dog, walks along the river, and kayaking. The nature-related experiences – especially the kayaking experience – helped Anna remember her own embodied power and prepared her to revisit the trauma of her rape.

This research adds support to the idea that engaging in nature can promote resiliency and trauma recovery in children. It also suggests that including the more-than-human world in therapy for children impacted by trauma may be a safe and perhaps more effective approach than traditional top-down talk therapy methods.