WHEN: Friday, October 17, 2025

TIME: 9 am-1:15 pm Eastern Time (ONLINE VIRTUAL Synchronous Training via Zoom. Zoom link sent with registration confirmation.)

COST: $65 for 4.0 contact hours, LCMHC, LCSW, LMFT, Peer Support, LCAS, and NCASPPB approved. NBCC approval statement below. Meets LCSW requirement for live synchronous training.

Ecotherapy involves outdoor activities or interactions with the natural environment as a way to improve mental health and well-being. It is based on the idea that spending time in nature or engaging with natural elements can have positive effects on both psychological and physical health. We’ll define the basic elements of ecotherapy, assess a client for engaging ecotherapy, and develop goals for ecotherapy in a treatment plan.

Ecotherapy can take many forms depending on the clients needs. Some common elements include:

1. Nature Walks: Taking walks in forests, parks, or other natural settings, often while practicing mindfulness or focusing on the present moment.

2. Gardening: Engaging in gardening activities, where clients may plant, tend to, or harvest plants, which can provide a sense of purpose and connection to the earth.

3. Animal-Assisted Therapy: Interaction with animals, particularly in settings like farms or nature reserves, which can be soothing and provide comfort.

4. Ecopsychology: A deeper, more reflective approach where therapy sessions might explore the relationship between the person and the environment, addressing emotional or psychological issues through the lens of ecological and environmental concerns.

5. Wilderness Therapy: This is often a more structured, intensive form of ecotherapy used for specific issues such as behavioral problems or addiction, involving prolonged stays in remote wilderness areas, often with group or individual therapy components.

6. Ecotherapy that cares for the earth as a parallel process of caring for self. This could involve volunteership in a river clean-up, roadside litter pickup, work in an animal shelter, and minimizing one’s impact on the earth by reducing consumerism.

   Instructor: Linda Harrison, LCMHCS, CCS, MAC

   Refund policy: We offer a 100% refund minus card processing fees for requests made inside 48 hours after the purchase. After 48 hours no cash refund or credits are given.

   No refunds are made due to technology problems resulting from participants audiovisual equipment or personal internet failures. Arriving more than 20 minutes late to a virtual training may prevent receipt of full workshop hours. Participants must be on camera for the duration to receive credit for the training.  

National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) Approval Statement:

Asheville Counseling, Clinical Supervision and Training has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6957. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Asheville Counseling, Clinical Supervision and Training is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.