Nature as a Co-Therapist: A Simple Overview
What is Nature-Based Therapy (NBT)?
Nature-Based Therapy (NBT) is a form of therapy that helps people feel better by connecting them with the natural world. It goes by many names like forest bathing, ecotherapy, grounding, and more. No matter what you call it, it’s about spending time with nature — trees, animals, oceans, mountains, even the stars — in a way that’s healing.
NBT can be used in many places, including schools, therapy clinics, homes, hospitals, and even prisons.
NBT often respects and draws from Indigenous wisdom, which teaches us that humans and nature are deeply connected. Activities might include walking in the forest, doing art in nature, building things with natural materials, or just sitting and noticing the world around us.
Why Nature Matters — Especially for Girls and Women with Disabilities
This essay looks at how nature-based therapy can help girls, teens, and young women with disabilities or who are neurodivergent (like autism or ADHD). Nature can help them feel more connected to themselves, others, and their communities.
The writer shares a personal story: nature helped her feel safe and supported during tough times in her life. It helped her build better relationships with herself and others — including her brother Pierce, who had Down syndrome and autism. Their close bond inspired her to become a speech therapist and explore how connection, communication, and relationships can heal.
What the Research Says
1. Women, Nature, and Ecofeminism
A study by D. Mitten says spending time in nature can help women feel more connected and healed. It even talks about eco-feminism — the idea that how we treat nature is similar to how women are treated in society. By connecting with nature, we learn more about ourselves and build better relationships.
2. Children with Learning Difficulties
Ronen Berger did a study where kids with learning challenges built “homes” out of natural materials during different seasons. These activities boosted their confidence, communication, and teamwork. Nature gave them space to grow in ways that a regular classroom couldn’t.
3. Autistic Children and Outdoor Play
Therapists found that autistic children benefit from sensory play outdoors. It helps with communication, creativity, social play, and emotional growth. Nature acts like a partner in therapy — helping children feel calmer and more open to connecting with others.
4. Adults with Disabilities and Nature
In a study with adults with disabilities and their caregivers, nature helped improve their mental well-being and relationships. The key takeaway: "We are all participants in nature." Being in nature made people feel accepted, included, and part of something bigger.
5. Nature and Loneliness
A 2024 study reviewed programs where people were “socially prescribed” nature-based activities like gardening or walking groups. These programs helped people — especially women with disabilities — feel less lonely and more connected. But there’s still a need to make these programs more inclusive and accessible for everyone.
6. Parents and Children Communicating Better Outdoors
One study showed that parents and kids talk and connect better in nature than indoors. Natural settings help improve bonding and make conversations flow more easily.
What This All Means
Nature can be a powerful partner in healing. It can help people — especially girls and women with disabilities or neurodivergence — feel more connected, confident, and calm. It creates space for real connection, beyond words.
Nature-Based Therapy isn’t just a “nice idea.” Research shows it really works, helping people with communication, confidence, relationships, and reducing loneliness.
But to help more people, we need to:
Make these programs easier to access
Include everyone, no matter their sensory or communication needs
Create new tools to measure real progress — not just clinical symptoms
Final Thoughts
In today’s busy and disconnected world, nature offers a gentle path to healing. Whether it's through walking in the woods, building something from sticks, or sitting quietly under the stars — nature reminds us we belong.
With the right support, nature can become a co-therapist, guiding people toward connection, comfort, and community.
References:
- Ashby Lavelle Sachs, Kolster, A., Wrigley, J., Papon, V., Nerkez Opacin, Hill, N., Howarth, M., Rochau, U., Hidalgo, L., Casajuana, C., Siebert, U., Gerhard, J., Daher, C. and Litt, J. (2024). Connecting through nature: A systematic review of the effectiveness of nature-based social prescribing practices to combat loneliness.
Landscape and urban planning, 248, pp.105071-105071. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.106071
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024). Social Isolation and Loneliness [online] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/social-isolation-and-loneliness.
- Berger, R. (2006). Using contact with nature, creativity and rituals as a therapeutic medium with children with learning difficulties: a case study. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11(2), pp.135-146.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13632750600619430
- Cameron-Faulkner, T., Melville, J. and Gattis, M. (2018). Responding to nature: Natural environments improve parent-child communication. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 59, pp.9-15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.08.008
- Jakubec, S.L., Carruthers Den Hoed, D., Ray, H. and Krishnamurthy, A. (2016). Mental well-being and quality-of-life benefits of inclusion in nature for adults with disabilities and their caregivers. Landscape Research, 41(6), pp.616-627. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2016.1197190
- MHNE_Staff (2024). Harnessing the Power of Nature: Outdoor Sensory Activities for Autism Spectrum Disorder. [online] Autism Spectrum News. Available at: https://autismspectrumnews.org/outdoor-sensory-activities-for-autism-spectrum-
- Mitten, D. (2017). Connections, Compassion, and co-healing: The Ecology of Relationships. In disorder/. Springer eBooks(pp. 173–186). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2550-1_12