Well, my path has taken lots of turns, taken a few backwards steps. Come across dead ends and has now evened out with a clearer path ahead. After my mum died 14 years ago, I had counselling (about a year later) and I found the process strange, difficult, enlightening and healing.
Finding my courage to begin counselling was difficult. When I look back, I am so grateful that I allowed myself that time and space with another to explore the wounds of grief I was experiencing. Fast forward a few years and I became aware I needed and wanted some more counselling. This experience with my counsellor was powerful, empowering and felt magical.
My path to becoming a counselling therapist
And so began my path to becoming a counselling therapist. Listening to myself more authentically about who I was and what I wanted. What was important to me and where I wanted my life to go.
Nature has always been a place of solace for me, of acceptance and safety. After qualifying I began to question my relationship with nature. What was I giving nature in return for this safe space? Was nature a part of me or was I just moving through nature? The more I gave space to this searching and researching, the more I understood that I am nature, nature is not only within me; it is also deeply embedded within.
This led me to exploring how I could harness my passion to work therapeutically in nature with clients. I embarked on an immersive training experience deep in a forest which strengthened and clarified my true nature (the real authentic me) that this was a way I wanted to work with people.
There are a multitude of ways to work therapeutically with nature from gardening to allotmenteering to working with a qualified and trained outdoor therapist.
Here are my top 3 tips to connect to nature
- get out in nature for 10 minutes every day. The natural day light will aid your natural body clock (circadian rhythm) to aid restful sleep.
- whatever your safe space, plant up a pot of spring bulbs to watch emerge and grow over winter. Snow drops, muscari and tulips will give you a good succession over a longer period.
- Have some houseplants to bring nature inside and to purify the air.
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