"Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend it. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond."
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Ecotherapy invites us to step out of what we are doing and into the practice of being. Being with the land, with our bodies, and with the living world around us. We are not separate from nature, looking out at it from a distance.
We are nature. Our bodies carry water, minerals, seasons, rhythms, and stories that connect us to something much older and larger than ourselves. A walk beneath the trees, the feel of soil beneath our feet, the sound of rain, or the changing light of a season can become an invitation to remember this belonging.
Time outdoors is associated with meaningful mental and physical benefits, but Ecotherapy asks us to go a little deeper than nature makes us feel better. It asks us to consider what it means to be in relationship with the places that hold us—and what responsibilities come with that relationship.
Colonialism and imperialism have created profound and widespread disconnection from land, community, culture, and traditional ways of knowing. Reconnection, then, is not simply about returning to the woods. It is about remembering relationship: with our bodies, with one another, with the land beneath us, and with the more-than-human world of which we are a part.
At Anchored Hope Therapy, Ecotherapy is rooted in curiosity, reciprocity, and belonging. We may walk, sit, notice, wonder, listen, or simply be. We learn from the seasons that change does not always need to be resisted. We learn from rivers that there are many ways forward. We learn from trees about rootedness and reaching. We learn that storms are not signs that something has gone wrong—they are part of the ecosystem.
Ecotherapy invites us to practice tolerating stormy weather, both internally and externally. To notice what our bodies know. To make room for grief and growth, stillness and movement, endings and beginnings. And, perhaps most importantly, to remember that healing does not happen in isolation. We are held within relationships—with people, place, community, and the larger web of life.
This work begins with acknowledging whose land we are on.
We offer both in-person and virtual therapy services on the traditional, unceded territory of the Piscataway, Nanticoke, and Susquehannock Nations. Land acknowledgment is not a ceremonial endpoint. It is an invitation to become more curious about the land beneath our feet, the histories carried here, and the Indigenous peoples whose relationships with these lands long predate our own.
Locally, we collaborate with Maryland Therapeutic Riding to offer trauma-informed, nature-based therapy services, creating space for healing and connection beyond the traditional therapy room.
You can learn more about the Indigenous communities connected to the land where you live, work, and gather through Native Land Digital.
The invitation is simple:
Slow down.
Pay attention.
Notice what is alive around you.
And begin to wonder what it might mean to belong here—not as an owner, but as a participant in a much larger story.
Ecotherapy Inside
Ecotherapy doesn’t require a trail, a field, or even an open window. Sometimes, the natural world can meet us right where we are.
Indoor Ecotherapy intentionally brings elements of the earth into the therapeutic space. An indoor plant, a handful of soil, clay, sand, stones, shells, or even the view from a window. These ordinary natural objects can become invitations into metaphor, curiosity, and meaning:
What am I rooted in? What am I carrying? What needs tending? What is asking to change?
“The land knows you, even when you are lost.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer
Working with natural materials engages the senses and offers the nervous system something different from the constant demands of modern life. We slow down. We notice texture, weight, shape, temperature, and movement. We step out of overactive thinking and into a more embodied way of knowing.
Sometimes, a stone is simply a stone.
And sometimes, holding it helps us remember what it means to be held.
Ecotherapy Outside
Sometimes the world outside asks us to come back to ourselves.
Outdoor Ecotherapy can happen anywhere there is sky, soil, water, wind, or living things nearby. A walk beneath the trees, sitting beside a creek, noticing the sudden buzz of a fly, the warmth of sunlight on your skin, or the quiet presence of an animal can gently interrupt the patterns we carry with us. The natural world invites our attention into the present moment—and, in doing so, can open space to notice what is happening within.
Nature does not ask us to perform, solve, or hurry. It offers movement, stillness, unpredictability, rhythm, and relationship. In outdoor Ecotherapy, we practice paying attention not simply to nature, but with it—using our senses, bodies, curiosity, and imagination to explore emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational experiences in new ways.
At its heart, Ecotherapy is about relationship: with the natural world, with ourselves, and with the communities and places that shape us. Whether we are walking, sitting, observing, listening, or simply sharing space with another living being, the invitation is to become a little more present to the world—and to our own place within it.
A trusted guide to nature-based healing
We are grateful to share the work of our trusted referral and community provider, Laura Marques Brown, LCPC, of Natureza Therapy. Laura offers another thoughtful doorway into nature-based healing and can be a wonderful additional guide and resource for those seeking this work.
Explore Laura's writing below, and learn more about working with her at Natureza Therapy — Schedule a Consultation.
I am a bi-cultural Nature Based Therapist, from a Brazilian family, first generation American born. Since becoming a therapist I have learned to honor my cultural background as it informs […]
“You Should Sit in Nature for 20 Minutes a Day…Unless You’re Busy. Then You Should Sit For An Hour.” –Zen Saying In many Indigenous and Native cultures across North America, […]
Further reading/listening:
Interview: The Mental Health Benefits of an Inclusive Outdoor Escape (New York Times) featuring Laura Marques Brown, Ecothearpist at Anchored Hope Therapy
Read the Article
Podcast: Mental Health in America - Connecting Physical and Mental Health Episode 120 of After the Fact, by The Pew Charitable Trusts featuring Laura Marques Brown
Listen to the Episode