Origins of this approach:

I began a deep dive into ecotherapy and somatic therapy in 2020 as a result of feeling isolated during the pandemic. Ecotherapy brought new life into my work as a therapist. I rediscovered my love for the natural world and reawakened to the fact that I myself am a part of the ecosystem that I call home. Through a combination of ecotherapy and somatic therapy learning, I began to feel my sense of self expanding to include, rather than feel separate from, the Earth. In Ecotherapy and indigenous communities, this is known as the Earth-Body or Ecological Self. 

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The Mind, Body and now Earth connection I cultivated began to show up in my work with clients without even trying. The intake process involves inquiring about one's connection to nature, traumas in nature, and favorite childhood memories in nature. Nervous system regulation and resourcing involves noticing how we can be nurtured and held by more than human beings, such as trees, plants, and even Earth's surface. Trauma renegotiation, also known in EMDR as trauma reprocessing, involves interweaves and invitations that include walking into nature, touching the Earth, stomping the feet, shouting, or smelling the trees.

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Eco-Somatic trauma therapy is a way of being with self, client and the surrounding ecosystem. It's an approach that requires letting go of rigid thinking and instead sinking into Being. Even though trauma therapies, especially EMDR, are protocol based, this doesn't mean we cannot include the mind, body and Earth connection in the process.

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Although the synthesis of ecotherapy, somatic therapy and EMDR is new to our field, it should be noted that the concept that both humans and more than human nature are healthier when we nourish this connection is not new. Indigenous people have prioritized healthy connection to nature for thousands of years, without credit from the healing fields. ​

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Objectives of Eco-Somatic EMDR Training:​

1. Define the intersection of applied ecopsychology and somatic psychology (Eco-Somatics)

2. Gain an embodied understanding of the synthesis of Eco-Somatics and EMDR

3. Describe how nature can act as a coregulator during EMDR sessions for clients AND for therapists

4. Gain and practice at least 3 nature-based methods of bilateral stimulation

5. Describe how to interweave eco-somatics into the EMDR Standard Protocol during Phases 1-6

6. Experientially practice eco-somatic EMDR in an outdoor nature setting

7. Gain and practice at least 3 Eco-Somatic interventions to begin incorporating into your EMDR practice

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Goals of Eco-Somatic EMDR Training:

• To support therapists in learning and embodying a mind, body and Earth informed approach to EMDR, without changing the standard protocol

• To support therapists in expanding beyond perceived boundaries and limitations of EMDR, learning that they can be creative and intuitive in the EMDR process

• To support therapists in developing an eco-somatic connection within their own nervous systems and in relation to their clients

• To give therapists a nature-immersed training experience in order to support embodiment of training content

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This training as an introduction to eco-somatic EMDR, not a comprehensive training course.

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The Training Experience:

• This training combines lecture AND practicum to support embodied learning.

• You can expect to practice Eco-Somatic EMDR with real life experiences in a nature-based setting.

• You will be invited to connect to your own mind, body and to the surrounding eco-system.

• You will learn the theory behind this approach while also learning through doing and Being

Ready to sign up? Our next trainings can be found here:

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