Do You Need A Certification To Practice Ecotherapy?

The field of Ecotherapy (AKA: Nature-based therapy, Walk-N-Talk therapy, Green therapy) is growing significantly across the country. This confirms the spirit of reconnection to nature that both clinicians and clients alike are craving.  With ‘permission’ being granted to ourselves for stepping outside the clinical box, and new research validating how our physiologies, minds, and spirits are designed for ongoing nature exposure and connection, there is a dramatic increase in ecotherapy offerings and trainings nationwide. 

As an ecotherapy practitioner for 15 years, I receive many questions from new and established therapists from all over the country. Below are a few of the most common questions I receive with some of my brief responses. My hope in sharing this is so you can make informed decisions about your learning and professional path. 

What is ecotherapy to me? (Meaning what is my own definition of this practice)
Do I need ecotherapy training? 
Do I need an ecotherapy certification to integrate this into my service options? 
What could I learn from ecotherapy training, and what are the benefits or drawbacks? 
How much does it generally cost to get certified in ecotherapy? 

What is Ecotherapy (AKA: Nature-based therapy)?
While there are some variations on ecotherapy definitions, here is my definition of ecotherapy/nature-based therapy: 

Ecotherapy/Nature-based therapy situates the therapeutic process and therapeutic relationship in and into* natural settings that more accurately reflect the dynamic, interdependent, and complex nature of both. Ecotherapy/Nature-based therapy is an experiential, collaborative, and relational therapy that draws on the presence, wisdom, and spirit of nature as well as the clinician’s theoretical orientation and creativity to support client’s presenting concerns and therapeutic goals.  (K.Rose, 2017)

*Situating ‘in’ signifies location; situating ‘into’ denotes relationship. 

Do I need Ecotherapy training? Do I need an Ecotherapy Certificate?

The quick answer is ‘no’. There is no national, or to my understanding, state-based requirement for practicing psychotherapy in outdoor spaces. (Please check with your own professional governing board for your state and/or license.) You are not required to be certified in Ecotherapy to integrate this into your services. However, there are ethical guidelines within all professions, regulatory bodies, and professional organizations to practice within the scope of your expertise and training. 

Therapists love, find solace, and find restoration in nature. Of course, and thank goodness. Yet sometimes our love of something or someone is not enough. In this case, love is not enough to move client sessions outdoors. To be ethical, safe, creative and thoughtful in nature-based therapy, it is our responsibility to receive some additional training in this modality if we are going to do this long term and/or consistently. Naturally there are circumstances where a training is not necessary. I am speaking to clinicians that want ecotherapy to be a regular part of their operation structure and do not have a background in nature awareness, eco-literacy, ecopsychology theory, and interventions in nature.
 
What could I learn from an Ecotherapy training? 

While I could spend pages answering this question, I will answer from a general perspective (for further questions, please contact me). One response is… it depends on who you are training with and how you are training. There are a variety of ecotherapy training programs or ecotherapy certifications across the country and they offer a diversity of content. Most trainings usually include:

• Some science/research/theory information regarding rationale and benefits of nature-based work or nature exposure
• Pillars or philosophies of what is important (to them) in eco-therapeutic/ecopsychology work
• Attention to some logistics for preparation
• A specific focus such as doing rites of passage work or mindfulness-based ecotherapy work
• Overview of ethics of ecotherapy
• At Colorado Ecotherapy Institute, we include the above and our unique focus is on Ecotherapy through an attachment, Polyvagal, contemplative, and eco-literacy lens. We offer many experiments and interventions
  
  

The format of trainings also varies from program to program. Some are solely pre-recorded and just teach through video; some are solely live and in-person; and some are a hybrid of both. Pre-recorded, non-interactive trainings are less experiential and cost less while hands-on trainings are more experiential, impactful, and tend to cost more.  When I teach botany, I tell my students that ‘botany is a contact sport, so we need to be engaged and touching and interacting with the plants.’ I will say the same here… ecotherapy is a contact sport. It needs our sensory, animal body, relational engagement.😉 

What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of an ecotherapy certificate training?

It is important to me to be competent in my work and to encourage competency in my students. While no practitioner is perfect and we’re all on an ongoing learning journey, I feel more confident and rooted in my ventral state while doing therapy or teaching when I have trained and practiced in a new modality. My client’s neuroception will be able to sense my comfort level when outdoors, and it is important they feel safe with me, consciously and unconsciously. What are your clients picking up from your nervous system when you are guiding them in nature? Knowing your Place, your bioregion, the specific spaces you take clients to, the hazards of each place and their micro-climates… support both clinician and client to feel safe or safer in a location. 
 
Benefits of Ecotherapy Certification Training: 

• Increased competency and confidence in outdoor therapy sessions. This translates to more trust between you and your clients;
• Increased sense of safety and security in your therapy locations;
• Deepened groundedness and presence within you;
• Knowing more interventions and experiments to do with clients in collaboration with place;
• Knowledge of the effects of nature exposure and nature relationship on you and your clients and ability to better track these effects;
• Increased awareness of:
  • You and your clients’ nervous systems 
  • Your multi-dimensional environment
  • Your spontaneous creativity
  • Other species you can know and collaborate with
• Growing support for our own struggles through deeper nature and peer relationships
• Sense of empowerment with increased clinician confidence and eco-literacy training
• Learning of the particular theme of one’s ecotherapy training (ie: rites of passage work; mindfulness, for CEI – attachment, development, & polyvagal…)  
  
  

Any drawbacks of Ecotherapy Certification Training? 
Any drawbacks experienced from ecotherapy training may be directly related to the specific person or organization you train with. It is possible to there is a gap between what you expected and what you experienced, or that the facilitator is not rooted enough in the content and spirit of the work to seem credible. Also, a clinician may desire to do Eco-therapeutic work in a quality way but they choose an on-line, no interaction training. These do not offer substantial knowledge and experience in guiding someone in an outdoor space. They can be a good start for some of the theory and logistics, but the lived, raw work outdoors should be experienced outdoors – and get in your bones.  
One real risk though, is that after an ecotherpy certification training, you may not want to go back into the office again. 😉 

What is the cost of an Ecotherapy Certification Training? 
The answer to this question varies greatly depending on the format of the training (on-line, in-person…) and the length/depth of the training. It can be 10-40 hours on-line, a year-long training on-line, a week-long training in person, or a hybrid of sorts. So much variety and options it is difficult to state the range. In general, trainings run from $200 - $3000. 

What we provide: 
At Colorado Ecotherapy Institute, we pride ourselves on the blend of on-line and in-person, making this accessible to in and out-of-towners. We bring 15-50 years (Kimberly and Duey together) of nature-based, wilderness-based therapy, equine therapy infused with a high-quality attachment, human development, nervous system, and contemplative focus. 
Our ecotherapy certification training consists of: 

• 4 hours of on-line, group sessions; 
• 3 days of in-person, experiential, and theoretical learning; 
• A private consultation with each participant, which can be on-line or in-person;
• Optional for additional hours: A case presentation
• Optional for additional hours: Up to 10 consultation hours
  
  

Participants can earn a certificate for 30-45 hours, depending on what they choose. The base training is 30 hours. After training, participants receive a certificate verifying their attendance and completion. This certificate includes what is required by NBCC and many other governing agencies to receive Continuing Education hours: Name of participant; Name/title of training and themes/topics covered; Number of hours of participation; Dates of participation; Signature of facilitators. 
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In Conclusion: 
The world needs more competent therapists and more quality, soul-based, contemplative Eco-therapists. Being a therapist willing to step into this path supports people in our communities struggling with attachment and trauma wounds as well as the effects of a culture separating us from our bodies, intuitions, souls, and the earth. If you feel called within your heart to address these wounds and to contribute to healing of people and the planet, listen to your heart. Do some research for the best training path for you, and step into your destiny.  
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