ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the practical application of taking an office-based practice into local greenspaces, parks, and nearby-nature settings. Key elements of this approach will be briefly described herein: the practitioner's relationship with nature; nature as co-therapist; full body engagement, play and risk; restoration and regulation; and bonding and belonging. Accepting nature as co-therapist is a central component of nature-based therapy. Nature-based therapy has been found in the literature as a treatment for mental health issues, stress, depression, anxiety, learning difficulties, and pain management for more than a decade now. A case vignette was offered to help elucidate the practice of nature-based therapy in the context of a child struggling with anxiety and the art and science of the approach has hopefully become more clear. The chapter concludes with a case vignette to illustrate the practical application of the elements.
