Exploring Ecopsychology: What is Ecopsychology?

What is Ecopsychology?

Ecopsychology is the branch between both ecology and psychology.

Exploring Ecopsychology through the 4 dimensions of health

Ecopsychology integrates ecology and psychology by fostering the reciprocal relationship between humankind and nature. It is used to improve the human condition; offering benefits to all of the four categories of Health as outlined by the World Health Organization: physical, mental, social, and spiritual (we will highlight these in another post).

Ecopsychology as a whole goes beyond individual healing to encompass a broad cultural scope. It also looks to redefine and re-imagine society’s current relationship with nature, asking participants to critically think about their interactions with nature, implications of consumerism, materialism, and environmental exploitation. Ecopsychology understands that the needs of the planet are the needs of the person, and the rights of the person are the rights of the planet (Roszak, 1992).

Exploring Ecopsychology in the Schwarzwald, Black Forest of Germany © Justine Ferland 2022

Much like roots of a tree, ecopsychological practices overlap and intertwine into other fields. You will see ecopsychology using mindfulness and contemplative practices such as meditation and introspection; sensory awareness; animal human connections; environmental action; environmental education; restoration; cultural and native practices; sustainability; de-commercialization and relocalization (emphasis on local practices and decreasing global consumerism); gardening and horticultural work; wilderness therapy; shamanism; wilderness rights of passage; ecotherapy; and ecoart (season celebrations, festivals, use of natural materials etc.)

While Ecotherapy, probably one of the most well known aspects of ecopsychology, combines evidence-based counseling approaches in natural settings; ecopsychology as a whole goes beyond individual healing to encompass a broad cultural scope. It recognizes that the environmental situations we currently find ourselves in, including the consequences of, and solutions to, are deeply rooted in human behavior and beliefs. Ecopsychology looks to redefine and re-imagine society’s current relationship with nature through ecoeducation and other initiatives. Ecopsychology can also be used in spiritual practices, helping to respond to deep and enduring questions of the human condition such as: Who are we? How do we grow? Why do we suffer? How do we heal?

Ecopsychology’s roots and influences can be traced back to environmental action, humanistic psychology and nature-based healing. Theodore Roszak, a Californian professor, is credited with creation of the concept in a book he published in the 1990’s. Roszak proposed that ecotherapists should promote individual healing while also engaging the community as a whole. The human mind and environment are inextricably bound because they represent both life and consciousness and are inseparable from the surrounding environment.

Excerpt from Roszak’s The Voice of Earth (1992): Psychology needs ecology; ecology needs psychology. From this partnership a new profession is born: an ecopsychology that combines the sensitivity of the therapist with the expertise of the ecologist. The value of such a new body of professionals reaches well beyond individual healing. Ecopsychology has a greater cultural project: to redefine the relationship of the natural environment to sanity in our time. Ecotherapists wish to heal the soul while engaging the whole. We wish to speak for the planet and its imperiled species…The planetary environment is the context for healing the soul because the two are inextricably bound by bonds that are sacred: life and consciousness. Implicit in this project is the need for a scientific paradigm that gives life and consciousness a new central status in the universe. Based upon such a paradigm, ecopsychology is more than a mere academic exercise; it is part of an ongoing and practical healing mission that recognizes and honors that the health of the individual human psyche depends upon the collective health of all the kingdoms of life on Earth.

SEELEDU explores the journey of being human and nurtures nature connections for health and well-being.