In this presentation, Dr Geoff Berry will discuss how ecopsychology and ecotherapy are evolving alongside current concerns in Australian mental health landscape, and how they intersect with shifts in Australian culture towards more mindful acceptance of things such as prescription of time in nature, Indigenous rights, and somatic and creative arts therapies.
Points of discussion
- Prescribing nature connection has become more common, as benefits become more obvious
- Concurrently, many of the practices included under the umbrella term 'ecotherapy' engage with a shifting social baseline
- Indigenous respect, shown in Acknowledgement of and Welcome to Country
- Decolonisation, rewilding and other practices of ‘unlearning’ previously unexamined and internalised socialisation processes and assumptions
- Mindfulness and somatic awareness techniques as accessible, everyday routine ways of coming back into the body and feeling grounded
- Intersection with current key MH concerns: isolation, disconnection, environmental and other ‘generalised’ anxieties, depressive symptoms
About our presenter: Dr Geoff Berry
Dr Geoff Berry is the Australian Representative to the International Ecopsychology Society and delivers the Advanced Ecotherapy Training Course to practitioners seeking to incorporate nature into their practice. He is a PACFA and ACA Registered Academic who lectures in Ecopsychotherapy at the Ikon Institute, offers Climate Cafes with Psychology for a Safe Climate, and is undertaking Teacher Training with the Insight Meditation Institute of Australia.
Webinar timing: 1:00 – 2:00 pm AEDT
Access to the recording of this webinar: A recording of this webinar will be available through the CPD Webinar Library, but for the best experience and the opportunity to ask your questions, join us live. Everyone who registers will be advised via email as soon as the recording is available. Members have unlimited access to the recording, and non-members will have access for 6 months.