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Buzzell and Chalquist have compiled this book with many valuable contributions from other
ecotherapists working in the field. As an early career’s researcher in psychology, I have
chosen this book to read with the intention of employing this when I teach applied
ecopsychological aspects on a Master’s in Integrated Urbanisms. I am familiar with the work
on ecopsychology which was a lens to help me understand some of my research I conducted
with sportspeople with asthma for my PhD. The book has a phenomenological attitude and is
divided into five parts bustling with difference voices (some of whom I am more familiar
with than others) in each section: (1) greening of psychotherapy; (2) ecotherapy in practice –
working from the inside out; (3) Ecotherapy in practice – working from the outside in; (4)
community as ecotherapy; (5) ecospirituality and ecotherapy. It seems ironic this idea of
disease (or as Leder (1990) would call it dys-ease
1
) stemming from the economy which forms
the need for ecotherapy; a theme emerging from the book.
The foreword from David Or lays the foundations for an intriguing read, highlighting
issues surrounding health, the role of nature, and the promise of ecotherapy which “lies in the
possibility that such work can initiate healing rooted in our affinity with the natural world and
can sponsor sanity in a world gone mad” (p.15). Similarly, Buzzell and Chalquist continue to
outline ecotherapy, also known as “green therapy” and “earth-centered therapy” with a sense
that ecotherapy has encountered resistance in being accepted by mainstream
psychotherapists.
This sense is expanded in the first chapter of part 1 by Robinson who argues that
mainstream psychotherapy fails to address deeper, existential concerns and instead he drives
for an organic model where compassionate attention (as opposed to ‘fixing’ or changing or
reprogramming the soul) to a person’s entire being activates the healing process. Roszak’s
powerful tone radiates life from his chapter who argued for a mergence between
environmentalists and psychologists who seem to share a similar agenda; seeking to change
people’s behaviour with the environment. Part 1 of the book is about challenging other
psychotherapists to ‘let go’ of traditional modes of working with clients and discussing
various alternative approaches which can “foster a deeply experiences homecoming to a
world we have psychologically abandoned” (p.23).
1
Only when everyday bodily routines are interrupted, as for example when we become ill, in pain or when a
strong sensation suddenly overcomesus, does the body break into our consciousness. At such times, the body
‘dysappears’ (‘dys’ signifying abnormal, bad, difficult, ill) and ‘may be experienced as away, apart, from the
“I”’ (Leder, 199, p.90).
The common theme weaved throughout the comprehensive book by many therapists
is that therapists should listen with the ‘earth in mind’ and that this approach has assisted
many clients with their healing. In part 2 and part 3, the focus is similar, but the approach in
part 2 is through a practice of ‘working from the inside out’. I particularly enjoyed
Morrison’s chapter on embodying sentience where she argues that we cannot have an
ecotherapy that does not include the body and refers to that way that doing body-centered
activities (e.g., yoga) often fosters greater connections with the environment (plants, animals,
nonhuman life).
The authors in part 3 approach ecotherapy by working ‘from the outside in’ where
practices involve learning how to see nature as a partner in human healing “going outdoors
and finding ourselves” (p.131). There appears to be a continuing theme in the book about
restoration which is particularly prevalent in this section. Scull offers some guidelines for
those wishing to practice nature-connecting therapies for their clients. He suggests that there
are three kinds of clients: those with pre-existing positive or those with negative experiences
with the natural world, and those who have attended the nature meditations. He gives some
significant examples of how to tailor therapies with these different types of clients in mind,
but also reiterates that it is important for clients to make their own discoveries. Other
chapters in this part focus on various different therapies: agrotherapy (visiting a farm), garden
therapy, animal-assisted therapy (e.g., horses). However, Bradshaw expresses caution about
using animals merely as a tool or a stage upon which humans act out life. This theme of
restoration appears to be about returning to our senses and returning to the environment as a
way of the restoring our mind-body.
Part 4 focuses on the vision of a community-based approach to enhance ecotherapy.
There is a focus on the “culture of connection” (Andrews, p.196) where the role of
communities, small groups, children, and communal experiences (e.g., collective PSTD and
trauma) are explored. Specifically, as opposed to a dominant cultural paradigm of the self
(individualism), Watkins argues for “an interdependent paradigm of the self which opens us
to a deeper and wider understanding of the cultural and ecological context of our
psychological disarray and suffering” (p.232).
The mind-body-world-spirit seems to flow logically so that part five aptly finishes
with chapters on ecospirituality and ecotherapy which focuses on the notion that “humans can
regain spiritual grounding and come home to a world ensouled” (p.237). There is reference
to Buddhism in various chapters before, but in this section Macy discusses ‘the greening of
the self’ and how to deal with the psychic pain caused by environmental destruction from her
spiritual grounding in Buddhism (p.238). Eco-grief is understood as the grief over the loss of
so many animal and plant relatives at human hands and is discussed in terms of Gomes’
‘Altars of Extinction’. Sharmanism is also discussed in two chapters referring to ‘reflections
of water’ and the way Shamanic elements can be integrated into psychotherapy through
therapeutic rituals. The theme that merges these chapters appears to be about how we can
honour nature.
There are a lot of short chapters which provide a variety of approaches in this book
serving to deliver a very holistic overview of ecotherapy in different practices. Such
approaches from Ecotherapy challenge mainstream psychotherapy because “it cannot provide
simplistic pat answers to the questionnaires created by managed care” (Watkins, p.234)
Examples of evocative therapy sessions powerfully support their points (e.g., Rust’s client
Rosie, p.42; Rust’s bridging experience with a spider web, p.43; Harris’ own transformative
experiences in the Wilderness, p.84; Burn’s case of Belinda and Malcolm, p.93). It would be
interesting to have perhaps included a chapter on role of the sea with regards to some specific
examples, (e.g., surfing) and perhaps look at how others who engage in adventure activities
(e.g., rock climbing) find their connections with nature. It feels that this area has been a long
time coming and seems sad that two people who contributed to this book have since passed
away; Theodore Roszak and Lane Conn.
For those wishing to teach or learn more about ecopsychology, ecotherapy, this book
is brimming with applied ecopsychology knowledge and I intend to use this when I teach.
Yet it also touched me on a more personal level helping me to view the world through an
alternative lens and making me think much more deeply about the world, the environment,
rivers, plants, animals, restoration, my engaging (or sometimes dys-engaging) senses, and the
role of nature in my world.
References
Leder, D (1990) The Absent Body. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
Author Bio
Dr Helen Owton is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Northampton and will be
teaching on a Master’s course on Integrated Urbanisms. She completed her PhD in
Qualitative Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter. Her research specialisms
lie in innovative qualitative investigations of sporting embodiment.
