Nature-Based Therapy Training for Licensed Mental Health Professionals
This specialized training is designed for licensed mental health professionals, including psychotherapists, psychologists, and doctors of psychology, who wish to deepen their clinical practice by integrating the healing power of nature. It is intended for those with a passion for the natural world who seek to harness nature as a therapeutic tool to enhance their work with clients.
While being in nature is itself an implicit intervention in the therapeutic process, human beings are meant to have direct, reciprocal relationships with the natural world to which we all belong. Meaning, an intentional relationship that is greater than a playground for recreation. Unfortunately, the modern disconnect from nature is a significant source of emotional and psychological distress. By consciously incorporating nature into therapy, mental health professionals can foster more profound healing, helping clients reconnect with their sense of self, resolve trauma, develop secure attachments, and derive meaning in their lives.
This training will build upon your foundational knowledge of counseling theory and clinical skills, offering both theoretical and practical insights into nature-based therapeutic practices. While familiarity with modalities such as Gestalt therapy, attachment and trauma theories, somatic therapy, narrative therapy, and experiential or relational approaches (e.g., Interpersonal Neurobiology or AEDP) is beneficial, prior expertise in these areas is not required.
Training Overview:
The program will take place outdoors and focus heavily on experiential learning. You will engage in hands-on exercises, guided interactions with nature, and collaborative practice with peers. Key components of the training include:
An introduction to the fundamentals of nature-based therapy and its theoretical foundations
Legal and ethical considerations for integrating nature into clinical practice
Techniques for partnering with nature as a co-therapist to enhance therapeutic outcomes
Approaches for using nature as a framework for clinical case conceptualization and diagnosis
Understanding how nature can serve as a mirror and metaphor to help clients explore and make sense of their life experiences
Nature-based embodiment practices to help clients increase self-awareness
Experiential interventions that facilitate clients’ ability to externalize internal conflicts and shift their relationships with self and others
Art-therapy techniques applied in natural settings
Utilizing nature to support attachment repair, nervous system regulation, emotional processing, and fostering a sense of belonging
Engaging with nature to facilitate parts work for the differentiation and integration of the Self
Using nature-based interventions to resolve trauma and address symptoms of anxiety and depression
This training emphasizes embodiment—participants will experience the therapeutic practices in real time, gaining direct experience in applying nature-based interventions in their own clinical work. Please note that experiential learning will involve working with personal material in collaboration with fellow colleagues.
About the Instructor:
Megan Newton, MA, LPC, CCTP, NCC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and co-owner of Evolve in Nature. As a Certified Clinical Trauma Practitioner and trained nature-based therapist, Megan specializes in helping individuals and couples resolve attachment issues and trauma to alleviate present-day symptoms and relationship challenges. She draws from an interpersonal neurobiological framework and integrates modalities such as AEDP, EMDR, Gestalt therapy, somatic therapies, and nature-based practices to promote healing and personal growth.
Megan practices both indoor and outdoor psychotherapy in Boulder, CO, and also serves as a wilderness rite of passage guide, facilitating transformative nature-based programs.
Program Details:
Date/Time: October 11 & 12, 9am-5pm
Location: Outdoors in Boulder, CO
Cost: $800
CEU: 14 continuing education hours for practitioners with a Colorado license
Group size: max 8
Requirements: Pre-licensed or fully licensed Mental health professional
Trainee Reviews
READ THE TESTIMONIES OF PAST PARTICIPANTS
“If you are looking for an immersive training to incorporate nature-based practices into your work, Megan Newton’s heart, knowledge, experience, wisdom, and guidance are not only valuable but will shift your clinical work into new realms of healing. I have taken other nature-based trainings, which were less impactful. Megan’s training offers in-depth experiential learning, which allows the interventions to take root, creating an embodied educational and soulful experience I can take into my clinical work. ”
“Megan is a passionate and knowledgeable facilitator of nature-based therapy. She is an embodied teacher! She is skilled at creating a container where everyone feels safe to be vulnerable and engaged, including setting clear expectations and modeling healthy vulnerability with boundaries. I received so much wisdom and experiential learning in 2 days! I feel renewed in my connection to nature as a co-therapist and more supported with tools and practices to facilitate nature-based therapy interventions with my clients. ”
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