How Nature-Informed Counseling Supports the Grief Journey

By Roberta Rook, MA, LCPC

Hospice of the Chesapeake

. https://www.hospicechesapeake.org/

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How Nature-Informed Counseling Supports the Grief Journey

There are a lot of studies that support the healing powers of our natural world. One from 2019 published in Frontiers in Psychology found that 20 minutes a day with a goal of two hours a week spent in nature can lower stress hormone levels. 

For someone who is coping with the loss of someone special, that may be a great first step. The next step to make the most of healing time in nature is to take part in nature-informed grief therapy. It is a type of counseling that incorporates what we’ve learned about the benefits of being in nature into a care plan for grief clients. Here are three ways nature-informed therapy can help heal a grieving heart. 

Nature is cyclical 

There are a lot of reminders in nature about the life cycle. Look at a fallen tree with mushrooms growing from its trunk. That can show that life can come from death. New life from old growth can be beautiful. Change and loss has a purpose in nature. And so, too, in our lives. 

Nature doesn’t have goals 

When I am with a group taking a walk, it isn’t a fitness walk. We don’t need to do so many steps in an hour. It’s about being together, finding things that speak to us in our grief process and sharing. In nature therapy, we learn that it isn’t always how we want things to be in. A sudden storm changes our path. How do we deal with our own distress? 

Nature has metaphors

Nature has messages all around us. When we disconnect from the human-made world, we can see things in the natural world that can illustrate our grief process. One metaphor a client discovered was in a stream. She said it was like grief because there were calm spots which then led to water going over rocks and the stream being kind of broken up. As a facilitator, it is my job to give grievers a space to find these metaphors and it’s easy when we’re in nature.

Human beings, not human doings

When they get out in nature, grievers can find themselves slowing down and being in the moment. They become human beings and not human doings. We need that when we’re grieving. Healing comes from being present with your emotions. A nature-informed therapist can support grievers as they become more aware of their new path without their person.