Eco Art Therapy brings natural materials into art psychotherapy and brings therapy sessions outside into the natural world. The mental health benefits of connecting to and working with nature are well established, and eco art therapy encourages this in a creative, playful and reflective way. The natural world enhances self-regulation through the senses and movement, while offering a self-reflection through the wider context of our relationship with our world. We are brought into the present through a mindful engagement with the impermanence and resilience of the natural world around us.
Working creatively with nature allows us a safe and expansive space to process a wide variety of issues and deepen our ecological awareness. The natural world provides insight into grief, loss and change, as well as offering the use of symbols, rituals and metaphor for processing all of life’s challenges. The outdoor space allows for movement and increases the body-mind connection, which in turn facilitates emotional expression.
Sessions can take place outdoors in coastal areas, in woodlands, green spaces or urban parks. Natural materials such as clay, bark, stone, feather, shells, leaves and flowers can be gathered and brought into the art work. This work can be safely stored, left to remain in context, or deconstructed. The natural container of the outside world, while less structured and predictable than the therapy room, can also provide an effective mirror for the strengths, adaptability, and creative potential within ourselves.
Eco art therapy allows us to work therapeutically in a holistic way without compartmentalising ourselves as ‘other than nature’. A disconnection with the natural world is a disconnection with the self, and the importance of caring for ourselves and our environment has never been more widely acknowledged.
“We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we have lost our connection to ourselves.”
Further reading:
Eco-Art Therapy : Creative Activities that let Earth Teach by Theresa Sweeney Ph D
Environmental Arts Therapy and the Tree of Life by Ian Siddons Heginworth
If you would like to make an appointment for Eco Art Therapy, please contact Anna Mulvihill.
Anna Mulvihill
086 0747249
