Outdoor and nature connected Play Therapy
Why Nature connected play therapy?
Play therapy is a child centred approach to therapy that meets the child where they are at and recognises that play is a child’s most fluent ‘language’. It is the combination of both a safe and trusting relationship AND the play which can facilitate positive change for a child.
For a lot of children connections to friends and family, and general play, can help them to cope with everyday challenges and relationships. Sometimes, however, those challenges might be too big for a little person to cope with, or there might be too many all at once. In these cases they might need some more help to work through it. That’s what a play therapist (and a therapeutic relationship) is for!
So, then, how to we fit the ‘nature bit’ in…
There is extensive research showing how spending time outdoors and in ‘natural’ environments can have a positive effect on our nervous systems, often reducing stress levels, and supporting emotion regulation. For some children indoor spaces can feel stifling or pressured, whereas when outside they feel freer to move, express themselves and engage.
Being outdoors can also often support and speed up the development of the therapeutic relationship. From a sensory perspective there is also so much to feel, smell, move around and see, but often in a way which is not overstimulating. People who experience sensory overwhelm indoors often feel calmer indoors- somehow the natural sensations have a different quality to them, than, say, a busy classroom!
Finally, but perhaps equally important, is that a nature connected therapeutic experience can help children to build a stronger connection with the natural world, and hopefully grow up to be more environmentally conscious themselves, understanding that our relationship with the natural world is reciprocal- she will be good to us if we are good to her! And, in the end, that relationship will be there much longer than any therapist can be!