Nature Therapy: How Nature Heals Us
Nature Heals and Connects
Do I have to hug trees? Yes. Just kidding, but if you do I won’t judge you.
Do I have to eat vegan & organic for the rest of my life? No. I eat meat, but am intentional about meatless days for my gut & overall health. It's a tremendous benefit to eat more cleanly. And I live with a pescatarian who has shown me so many tasty ways to eat all the colors every meal.
Is Nature Therapy in Kansas City, MO even possible if I live in the city or suburbs? Absolutely. Nature therapy is a wonderfully accessible & broad practice. Gardening, walking through a park, landscaping, mowing - maybe that’s a stretch! Regardless, nature therapy is completely accessible to you wherever you live!
In this blog from us here at GOKC, we’ll be digging into nature therapy. Take a breathe and settle in, as we’ll be jumping into several components:
Defining Nature Therapy
Ways to Practice Nature Therapy
Dietary and Health Practices
Benefits of Connection to Nature
Local Community Agencies to Get You Into Nature
Keep going to learn more about how our connection to and within nature is wonderful for us. And keep an eye out for a couple of personal stories that have impacted me along the way.
What is Nature Therapy?
My simplistic answer to this is any experience where you’re in, around or connected to nature. And being intentionally aware of your connection to the natural world. The connection component may be the most significant factor in the practice of nature therapy. Many folks mistakenly assume that nature therapy is synonymous with outdoor mindfulness. It’s not. Nature therapy asks us to recognize the natural setting around us while simultaneously recognizing that we’re completely part of it. Connected. Not separate. We are not supreme beings that exist on a higher plane than the babbling brook or tiny bluebird chicks! Rather, we are all together in this thing. We might as well recognize, accept, and learn to live as part of it.
Origins of Nature Therapy
Let’s get beyond my simplistic take. Nature therapy (or Ecotherapy) has origins in Ecopsychology. Which is an emerging field that derives from Ecology & Psychology. Ecopsychology studies the relationship between human beings and the natural environment through both ecological and psychological principles. According to leading New Zealand Conservationist Blaschke, ecopsychology seeks to develop and understand ways of expanding the emotional connection between individuals and the natural environment. Thereby assisting individuals with developing sustainable lifestyles and remedying alienation from nature. Ecopsychology is a fairly new theoretical position that suggests that modern society has progressively become disconnected from the natural world. This disconnection has contributed to creating elevated anxiety, depression, loneliness, and physical health ailments. As well as a disconnectedness to ourselves, others & the world.
Whoa. That’s a lot. So, if theoretically, the luxuries of modern science, technology, and society bring consequences of all these things how can we possibly adjust? We cannot simply undo advancements - nor should we (in most cases…I’m watching you AI). This is where Ecotherapy aka Nature Therapy comes in.
The Simplicity of Nature Therapy
Nature therapy is really simple: outdoor activities often with a little guidance & structure from a health professional or nature guide. Farming, gardening, landscaping, nature walks, shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing for those of us with minimal Japanese language skills) & so much more! Do you garden? That’s Nature Therapy! Do you hike? Backpack? Stroll at your favorite local park? All these things can be forms of Nature Therapy if practicing these helpful skills. You may hear some interchangeable terms like green therapy, ecotherapy, or outdoor therapy. They all are generally getting us to the same place! We need to get out of our little boxes and adventure outdoors. The tasks in nature therapy can seem simple - they are! The benefits are wonderful and have been shown throughout history to have a powerful restorative impact on us. It’s one of my favorite therapeutic practices!
In recent years, a promising study out of South Korea (Kyung He Oh et. al 2020) reviewed 180 self-reported essays on forest-therapy experiences to develop a theoretical model of the nature-based therapy process. They performed rigorous analyses and found several categorical trends. This helped them create a 6-Step Model of the Nature-Based Therapy Process.
As the image illustrates, we see how the authors categorize processes into three Cognitive Behavioral Therapy foundations: Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavior. We also see many of the reported outcomes such as happiness, joy, change of thoughts, reflection, hope, courage, and recovery. Sign me up for these outcomes! I’ve worked with hundreds of people who are seeking these results. The terrific thing is that we can achieve these things! And with intentional connectivity to ourselves, others, and the natural world we will heal.
Ways to Practice Nature Therapy
This is my favorite part. And I bet you do these things without blinking an eye. If not, we’re going to share how accessible nature therapy is regardless of your living environment, wealth, physical ability, or experience. Also, you can connect with nature in the suburbs, at the farm & in urban areas. Here in KC, we have lots of outdoor options. Here are some of the best ways to practice Nature Therapy:
Horticulture Therapy
Horticultural therapy usually involves some form of gardening, but can also include caring for, watering, or simply spending time with plants indoors. This can be done in from your apartment, patio, home garden, or 200-acre organic farm! The benefits of gardening are numerous. Check out how easy it is to practice nature therapy with one simple Aloe Vera Plant.
Green Exercise
This is so easy. It’s quite simply exercising outdoors! One of my favorite trails in KC is the Unity Village Nature Trail, which is a 3-mile gravel loop through a creek bottom that covers a frog pond, two lakes, a cave, multiple pastures for wildlife, & lots of wooded areas for a hammock hang. Along the way are several outdoor workout stations. I typically skip the pull-up bar, but I try to hit the stretching and balance stations when I can. What are your favorite outdoor exercise facilities?
One of my favorite KC experiences for outdoor exercise is Walk With a Doc. There are chapters throughout the United States that offer community members free hour-long walks with a Doctor to educate, exercise & empower community members. Their mission statement puts it this way:
Walk with a Doc was started to “encourage physical activity and reduce the effects of a sedentary lifestyle.” While that is still 100% true, we have found that the simple act of taking a walk together has the power to transform lives and communities. When we walk together, each step can bring us closer to truly understanding and appreciating each other as a global community.
Adventure or Adrenaline Seeking Activities
Do you love adrenaline & risk-taking adventures? Winter or water skiing both counts! Snowboarding, rock climbing, paddling, and swimming are all ways to practice connection in nature. My favorite way to adventure involves water. Several years ago while exploring an estate sale, I stumbled upon a big bag full of paddles, lifejackets, pumps & other paddling goodies. And I saw a giant yellow vinyl cover peeking out of a tarp. As I unwrapped this gift, I found what looked like a one-person white water raft. It ended up being a pack raft made by a small business in Colorado called Alpacka Raft. I had no idea what a pack raft was until I did a quick search. I bought all this gear and loaded it up. I’ve had my little ‘banana boat’ on over 20 rivers & lakes with the hope to hit many more! I love my little pack raft and how it brings me back to nature. Maybe someday I’ll write about how I drank the entire North Fork of the Platte River in a class 3 rapid that flipped me over with ease. Worth it.
Forest Therapy
Forest therapy is based on the Japanese art of shinrin-yoku, meaning forest bathing. According to the International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance (INFTA), it’s a research-supported practice of guided immersion in forests to promote mental and physical health while you relax and enjoy the forest. Possible forest bathing benefits include improved relaxation, reduced stress, and increased physical activity, per the Cleveland Clinic.
Wilderness Therapy
Wilderness therapy involves immersing oneself in nature by camping and hiking in the wilderness while taking part in survival skills, training, and exercises. Through a therapist, people doing wilderness therapy have the opportunity to confront their maladaptive behaviors through primitive-skills training and team-building exercises in risky outdoor environments. This can help build self-confidence, overcome negative beliefs, improve communication skills, and gain trust.
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy involves spending time with an animal or animals. This can be done outside in a farm setting or inside with therapy pets like dogs. Equine-assisted therapy brings horses into the therapeutic process. A session can involve petting, feeding, or grooming animals under the supervision of a professional therapist. Keep reading to learn about KC’s coolest dog bar: Bar K.
Outdoor Arts & Crafts
Crafting outdoors! That’s easy. A nice combo is to create something useful for nature with natural materials. Recently, I attended a presentation on Missouri native woodpeckers by the Missouri Conservation Department. It was fascinating to learn more about the habitat, calls & identifying tricks to distinguish all seven woodpeckers found in Missouri. Afterward, I created a woodpecker suet feeder that’s proudly hanging in my backyard. I love a nice quiet morning coffee on my chaise looking out toward our bird feeders. I’m one step away from Mary Poppins over here.
What is Green Eating?
There are different definitions all around regarding the answer to this. Eco Psychology has a component that speaks to eating in the most natural way the earth prepares it. Think of small organic farmers who provide freshly picked, pesticide-free, seasonal local produce. There are growing numbers of community farmers’ co-ops that provide a variety of fresh produce from local farms in the KC region.
Our world has a terrible track record of oppressing minority & low-income communities by limiting access to healthy food. And/or making healthy diets unaffordable & unattainable. KC has small agencies, such as KC Urban Farm Coop doing terrific cultivating a 200-plus fruit tree orchard for access to free fruit for all coop members & in-need communities in KC. They are collaborating with The Giving Grove, which has been helping communities create, sustain & harvest fresh fruit throughout the region for several years. There are so many positive effects of eating locally and in season. Green eating can even bring the positive effect of lower blood pressure, boosting the immune system, improved cognitive functioning & more stable cholesterol. All these beneficial effects of a green diet are here in KC. Try to go local when you can!
Working with a nutritionist to cultivate a natural mineral & vitamin-rich diet can be a terrific way to practice green or sustainable eating. Eating your minerals & vitamins through fresh veggies & fruit is so healthy for our bodies & the environment. It’s okay to ditch the multivitamins! Our bodies are complex. So it is highly recommended to seek qualified nutritionists to help you find a safe & sustainable nutritional regimen that works for you!
Benefits of Connection to Nature
Boost to Mood
Getting outside is a terrific shot of life when you need a pick-me-up. Nature can do this in so many ways. One of my favorite facts is that the color green will make you feel better! Getting outside in the natural sunlight will too. Serotonin to the rescue! In both of these cases, your brain chemistry will help you find a better mood. You will be more resilient following time outside. Also, for all you gardeners out there: Say No to Gloves & get your fingers dirty! Did you know that skin contact with soil provides boosts of happiness? Mycobacterium vaccae is absorbed through the skin and triggers serotonin release - this is the 'happy hormone'. You will literally feel better in small doses. Get dirty - it's good medicine!
Increase your Creativity
Did I mention the value of seeing green?!? In an article from the Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, the color green was linked to increased creativity (Stephanie Lichtenfeld, Andrew J. Elliot, Markus A. Maier, and Reinhard Pekrun 2012). It’s a notable tip to consider if you’re looking for inspiration to defeat writer’s block, an artistic funk or just need to find the right paint color for a new studio. Green colors will keep your creative juices flowing!
Stress Reducer
Cortisol is one of the stress hormones that is produced when we’re a mess! Brain imagery & scanning have proven that as little as 20 minutes in nature may significantly lower cortisol levels. Let’s do that the next time we find ourselves in a non-stop day at work or trapped in another sleepless night. Combine this with a short stroll & you’ll get the added benefit of a physical boost to the body. The healing power of nature is an amazing force. And less stress is right around the corner!
Better Sleep
Few things will leave you feeling more wrecked than repeated nights of poor sleep. Regular exposure to natural sunlight might be your best friend to counter these sleepless nights. Natural sunlight helps us to stay alert, produce Vitamin D & boost serotonin levels. The latter has been proven to improve sleep quality at night. Brief morning sunlight exposure has been linked to boosted mood & cognitive sharpness in addition to increasing your odds of getting better quality sleep. Get outside whenever & however you can!
Reduced Loneliness
Time Spent in nature provides an opportunity to slow down and reconnect. Self-reflection & insight are necessary precursors to our most vulnerable inner work. Time & connectedness to nature allows for self-discovery, honest reflection, and practicing grace in self-acceptance. All these practices pave the way for connectedness to ourselves & the natural world around us. Many find nature brings closeness to larger, more meaningful forces in the universe. Often enhancing connectedness to others and all life. There are so many chronic mental health issues tied to loneliness in today’s world. Finding time to connect to the natural world is an amazing opportunity to change.
Spiritual Healing
Most of the spiritually significant moments in my life have taken place in awe-inspiring natural settings. I am often best able to quiet my mind when alone in nature. Whether you practice formal meditation, intentional forest bathing, or just sit quietly you will find peace in nature. I encourage you to look around you - pockets of green space surround us in KC!
KC Nature Experiences
KC has an incredible offering of natural resources - you just have to look around! While we may not have the dramatic backdrop of the Smoky Mountains or the never-ending skyward reach of the Rocky Mountains, KC has a tremendous variety of outdoor experiences waiting to be enjoyed. This subject is easily my favorite to think about & it makes me itch to get outdoors! In fact, I’m gonna go outside for a walk around the block. Okay, I’m back. Here are some opportunities & agencies providing terrific outdoor experiences:
Overland Park Arboretum
I love walking through the prairie trail that meanders through this local gem in southern Johnson County Kansas. The 300-plus acre gardens feature several ecosystems, trails, expansive plant varieties & terrific events for everyone. Whether you’re looking for a vigorous walk or an educational experience learning about pollinators, the Arboretum has something to offer you!
Blue River Forest Experience
This is one of my favorite organizations in KC. I’ve attended several events here including a family favorite: Winter Solstice Moonlit Walk. This organization is located in the Blue River Valley in Johnson County & includes the headwaters of the Big Blue River. They offer fantastic opportunities to experience nature therapy with their Ways of the Wild Kids Camp; Women’s Nature Retreats; Weekly Sunrise Dances & even offer traditional Shinrin-Yoku Forest Therapy Walk from March through October. Every time I’ve visited I’ve experienced my stress go away & been flooded with positive emotions.
Do yourself a favor and check out the Blue River Forest Experience!
Jackson County Parks
I haven’t explored all that Jackson County Parks has to offer. I hope to! I want to specifically highlight my favorite place within the parks system: Lake Jacomo. I’ve hiked the dozens of miles of trails throughout the parks countless times. They always deliver a tiny taste of the Ozarks right in KC. Most Blue Springs, KC, Lee’s Summit & Independence citizens know all about Lake Jacomo. If you’ve never been there’s an opportunity to hike, fish, craft cookouts, mountain bike, camp, RV, kayaking & even swim (only from an anchored boat). Speaking of boats, one of my favorite annual traditions is to team up with great friends for a pontoon float at Jacomo. It’s a wonderfully simple way to feel the sun, cool off in the water & enjoy meaningful connection with some of my favorite people! I can’t wait for summer.
Berkley Park Riverfront Park & Trail
The terrific Berkley Riverfront Trail provides access to see the reason KC exists: The Mighty Missouri River. The paved trail parallels the river & offers fantastic views of the River Market, downtown & a couple of iconic bridges. Urban environments like this KC space offer additional opportunities to connect in nature such as CPKC Stadium & Bar K Dog Bar. First, CPKC is the brand new home of the KC Current: KC’s Women’s Professional Soccer Club. What’s particularly unique about this stadium is that it’s the FIRST stadium dedicated to a professional women’s sports team in the entire US! It’s about time. Go Current!
Bar K Dog Bar has quite a following! This fun venue welcomes dogs (& owners) to gather in their fenced-in space while enjoying one another’s company. And maybe a pint of your favorite KC beer. Bar K is a fantastic opportunity to meet people with similar interests and connect without the ever-present computers, phones & cubicles. Get that dog off leash & meet some awesome people! Or just dogs. Meet all the dogs.
Missouri Conservation Department
I believe our MO conservation department stands second to none throughout the country. Not only does KC hold a Regional Office at James A. Reed, but there are multiple nature centers, parks & green spaces accessible to everyone. And let me tell you about what they do that gets me every time. They still have a monthly magazine called The Missouri Conservationist & it’s FREE to Missouri Residents. (They also have a kid’s edition called Xplor to encourage young ones to be curious & engaged in the outdoors!) After a long day at the office, there is no greater feeling than the boost I get when opening my mailbox & finding the MO Conservationist - it’s the best! Kudos to the MO Conservation Department for continuing to publish such an exciting, beautifully illustrated & experiential magazine. Every month I’m inspired to get outside no matter the season, my mood, or my current financial situation. There are so many ways to engage the natural world regardless. We just have to go get it!
Down to Earth Services
This KC small business focuses on native species landscape design, install & plant nursery. They have an online native nursery where you can purchase KC-grown starter plants! They grow native plants, shrubs & trees. They have been terrific partners throughout the KC area & continue to be advocates for developing naturally occurring gardens and ecosystems.
Check out more KC outdoor experiences HERE!
See How Nature Therapy in Kansas City, MO Can Help You Today!
Nature is a wonder, and it heals us even if we’re not seeking it. I encourage you to intentionally find your way to nature every day, even if it’s just a five-minute walk around the block or a brief break on a park bench. You'll benefit in so many ways, from reduced stress and improved mood to enhanced creativity and a stronger sense of well-being. Nature has a way of connecting us to the world around us and grounding us in the present moment. Consider exploring Nature Therapy in Kansas City, MO with GOKC to experience the profound benefits of nature on your mental and emotional health. So, let's make a commitment to prioritize time in nature and reap the many rewards it has to offer. See you out there!
Work with an experienced nature therapist.
See how nature and nature therapy can create a more balanced life!
Other Therapy Services Offered at GOKC in Brookside, Kansas City, and throughout MO + Kansas
At GOKC, we offer a range of services designed to promote healing and well-being outside of Nature Therapy in Kansas City, MO. Our services include DBT Treatment, Online Therapy, and EMDR for Trauma Recovery. Additionally, we offer Art Therapy, PTSD Treatment, and Somatic Experiencing. Whether you're looking to address specific mental health issues or seeking a deeper connection with yourself, GOKC can help you!
Authored by Aaron Shore, LPC
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2010 with over 20 years working in community mental health, non-profits & senior leadership roles. I have established mastery in trauma therapies, men’s issues, nature therapy & Severe and Persistent Mental Illness. I also love mentorship, clinical supervision & the development of young therapists.
Disclaimer: The information in this blog is intended for educational resourcing. It is not medical advice or meant to replace directives by mental health professionals. Please continue to seek supportive services from qualified health professionals in your community. The most courageous thing you can do is admit to yourself you need help. And go get that help. We trust you will find your courage and find your way through. You will thrive. Keep going!