Ecopsychology is based on the fundamental notion that some of our anxiety and ills come from living a lifestyle  that has drifted away from its foundation in nature connection, and being in a culture that has lost its way no longer respectful of planet and ecology.

Connection with earth and its systems are at the core of eco-therapy. Eco-therapists believe that the earth has a self-righting capacity through complex systems of integrated balance, and that

if we can harmonize ourselves with those systems, we will experience mental health. Personal well-being and planetary well-being are not separate from each other, and each must consider the needs of the other. In taking care of the earth, we care for ourselves. People’s lives are therefore seen as part of a greater system of relationship that includes both non-humans as well as human beings.

"Doherty says one of the unifying ideas in ecopsychology is its attempt to integrate a different set of questions into clinical practice. What, for example, does it mean to live as part of the web of life, but to behave as if we didn’t?"      Utne Reader

An eco-therapist understands that people are part of the web of life, and approaches clients from the perspective that our psyches are not isolated or separate from our environment. Some may even consider the natural world to have its own psyche.

"According to Pulitzer-Prize winning sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D., of Harvard, people have an inherent biological need to be in contact with the out-of-doors. He calls it "biophilia", and believes that nature may hold the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive, and even spiritual satisfaction. Wilson has found much evidence for our basic affinity for nature and its instructive and healing properties. "     ~ Michael Cohen, Project Nature Connect

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