Winter 2007
THE ECOTHERAPY NEWSLETTER
Healing our relationship with nature… Ecopsychology in Action! …Psychotherapy as if the Whole Earth Mattered
© January 2007
Editor: Linda Buzzell-Saltzman, M.A., M.F.T., lbuzzell@aol.com
Founder, The International Association for Ecotherapy
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, California
OUR WEBSITE: http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy
TWO ECOPSYCH CONFERENCES THIS SPRING!! March in Santa Barbara, Portland in June…
Contents:
1. QUOTES OF THE MONTH: Sarah Conn, Andy Fisher, John Seed, James Hillman, Paul Shepard, Carl Jung, M. Kat Anderson, Ralph Metzner
2. CONFERENCES GALORE! 2 upcoming Ecopsychology conferences and a report on the recent European conference
a) NATURE HUMAN NATURE conference in March in Santa Barbara
b) PSYCHOLOGY ECOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY conference in June in Portland, Oregon. Proposals due by Feb 1st!!
c) REPORT ON THE RECENT EUROPEAN ECOPSYCHOLOGY SOCIETY CONFERENCE by Jorge Conesa-Sevila
3. UK ECOPSYCHOLOGIST CHRIS JOHNSTONE: From Overwhelm to Engagement
4. EXCITING ONLINE READING
a) MIND AND ENVIRONMENT by Craig Chalquist
b) SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EARTH by Werner Sattmann-Frese
c) JOHN SEED DEFINES ECOPSYCHOLOGY
d) MEGAN QUINN: Beyond Despair
5 NEWS FROM U.K. ECOPSYCHOLOGIST MARY-JAYNE RUST
6. BOOK REVIEW: LIVING IN THE BORDERLAND by Jerome S. Bernstein
7. CHECK OUT THE ECOTHERAPY BLOG AT http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ice_seeds
8. ECOPSYCHOLOGY COURSES AND DEGREES: Endicott College, U. of Strathclyde, Naropa, Pacifica, Animas Valley, Institute of Global Education and more…
9. ON THE WEB: Cool websites to check out, including our website at http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy where you*ll find current and past issues of this newsletter, and the International Community for Ecopsychology*s www.ecopsychology.org: the best source of ecopsychology info on the web!
The International Association for Ecotherapy is a virtual organization of psychotherapy clinicians, students and educators who are practicing or teaching in the new field of ecotherapy (clinical/applied ecopsychology). If you'd like to be removed from this list, please just e-mail back. Or if you*d like to send e-mail addresses to add, news to pass along, or your insights, please do so! Joining is absolutely free.
1. QUOTES OF THE MONTH:
I believe that each of us now experiences in some way--physically, psychologically, economically, or politically--the pain of the Earth.
Sarah Conn
We experience the revolt of our own nature as our body’s painful rebellion against repressing social and cultural conditions. … Much of the experience of depression that is widespread within Western culture can, for instance, also be read as a revolt of nature, our bodies saying “no” to the crushing demands and abuses of modern life.
Andy Fisher
Ecopsychology: Psychology that has worked thru it's denial, consents to be informed by the ecological crisis and engage in "the real work" of this age…Imagine if our experience of self expanded and all the energy that goes into therapy were to include the healing of our world? Were the combined energies of all of the leaves who think and behave thus to be placed at the service of tree-healing, the tree might stand a chance and with it the myriad leaves that depend upon it.
John Seed
We still locate the psyche inside the skin. You go inside to locate the psyche, you examine your feelings and your dreams, they belong to you. Or it*s interrelations, interpsyche, between your psyche and mine. That*s been extended a little bit into family systems and office groups – but the psyche, the soul, is still only within and between people. We’re working on our relationships constantly, and our feelings and reflections, but look what*s left out of that… What*s left out is a deteriorating world. So why hasn*t therapy noticed that? Because psychotherapy is only working on that *inside* soul. By removing the soul from the world and not recognizing that the soul is also in the world, psychotherapy can*t do its job anymore… the sickness is out there.
James Hillman, We*ve Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy and the World*s Getting Worse
If the evolution of the human mind took place in a world of human scarcity and small group life, it follows that the human mind malfunctions in areas of high density.
Paul Shepard, The Tender Carnivore and The Sacred Game
A collective problem, if not recognized as such, always appears as a personal problem... [T]he cause of disturbance is ... not to be sought in the personal surroundings, but rather in the collective situation.
Carl Jung
The word horticulture, which comes from the roots hortus (“to garden”) and culture (“to take care of, worship, cultivate, respect”), essentially means “to garden with respect.”
M. Kat Anderson, “Tending the Wild”
The one discipline that, sad to say, has hitherto remained virtually untouched by any concern for the environment or the human-to-nature relationship is psychology – clinical, behaviorist, cognitive, physiological, humanistic or transpersonal – for any theory or research concerning the most basic fact of human existence: the fact of our relationship to the natural world of which we are a part.
Ralph Metzner
2. CONFERENCES GALORE! TWO GREAT ECOPSYCHOLOGY EVENTS COMING UP! MARCH IN SANTA BARBARA AND JUNE IN PORTLAND, OREGON
a) NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE: Changing Perspectives, March 16-18, Santa Barbara, CA!
The Nature and Human Nature Conference will explore how the sciences and the humanities must now work in tandem to achieve a shift in consciousness with respect to our current environmental ethos. Speakers will include David Abram, Steve Aizenstat, Susan Griffin (*Women and Nature*), Andy Fisher (*Radical Ecopsychology*), Lori Pye, Linda Buzzell-Saltzman, Craig Chalquist and many more…
Go to www.mythology.org for more information.
Scientists, psychologists, and cultural mythologists are increasingly addressing the toughest and most perplexing global issues, yet critical dialogue is required so that we no longer ignore the human factors or the ecological facts.
Humans are an integral part of the natural world, but a lost sense of emotional connection to nature is an *inconvenient truth* that we tend to ignore because it involves a set of unconscious actions toward Nature. Just as we have the power to create destruction, we can also choose to promote restoration.
It seems clear that deep down, unconsciously, all of us seek connection with the rest of life. A collaboration between psychology and science is needed to transform this longing into sustained, conscious, effective action. Science and technology can suggest rational solutions but unless our emotional participation is more deeply engaged, it is unlikely that we will muster the commitment to effect the necessary changes.
We learn from depth psychology that emotions are stirred by stories and images. This suggests that in order to create lasting change, we need to join peoples and communities working in these areas, who are part of a growing constituency of ecologically minded citizens interested in bringing together the genius of scientific perspectives on ecology and psychological insights, and who include the ancestral wisdom embedded in our culture's mythical heritage.
With this conference we will experience extraordinary presentations and conversation, and encourage participants to engage in lively working groups led by experts in various fields that will increase our knowledge of environmental and human issues seen from a long-term perspective.
This will contribute to constructing new worldviews about the interactions between humans and nature. In this way, we hope to motivate educators, policy makers and entrepreneurs to devise attitudes, policies and corporate responsibility for the future of our planet and humankind.
b) *PSYCHOLOGY ECOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY* CONFERENCE June 8-10 in Portand, Oregon
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1, 2007
This conference will be held at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, USA on June 8-10, 2007. Proposals for presentations and continuing education workshops are invited. Go to www.earthleadershipcenter.org/psf/pes for details. The conference is co-sponsored by the Center for Earth Leadership and the Department of Counseling Psychology, Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Lewis & Clark College.
As psychologists and mental health professionals, we have a special role to play in the great human endeavor to create a sustainable future. Join us for three days of presentations and small group discussions, as we consider the critical intersection between psychology, ecology, and sustainability. Through our dialogue, we hope to distill the essential components of this intersection and address three central questions:
1. Psychological concepts, theories, and research findings that are directly relevant to understanding human-nature relationships and the health benefits of green spaces; addressing the mental health issues related to consumerism, ecological degradation, and the unhealthy use of technology; minimizing hopelessness and despair, overcoming denial, and inspiring change; improving the efficiency and effectiveness of grassroots sustainability initiatives.
2. New directions in research, therapy, and professional practices for psychologists and mental health professionals. These directions may be inspired by work in psychology, environmental science, or the sustainability movement.
3. How psychologists and mental health professionals can become involved in actively applying our knowledge and experience to promote sustainable lifestyles, grassroots efforts, and political initiatives.
To receive a conference invitation and information on registration, lodging, and continuing education opportunities, please contact Meghan Mix at the Center for Earth Leadership at meghan@nwei.org or 503-227-2807 or visit www.earthleadershipcenter.org/psf/pes.
c) REPORT FROM JORGE CONESA-SEVILLA ON THE RECENT EUROPEAN ECOPSYCHOLOGY SOCIETY CONFERENCE
As promised I am writing to let you know how the first European Ecopsychology Society conference went. Following is a general description that I am sending
our circle:
The recipe for the conference was simple: invite fifty or so students and professionals from many fields who are committed to, interested in, or curious about
ecopsychology and let them interact with one another via meaningful and relevant activities for three days (poster sessions, keynote speakers, roundtable
discussions in education, philosophy, and counseling as well as practical workshops). Choose an inspiring rural setting with modern facilities to make these
interactions comfortable and educationally efficient with the option of partaking of an alpine landscape at a moment’s notice. Eat Italian mountain food and
listen to music in the evenings. Invite participants to explore archeo-astronomy sites, visit the planetarium, and go on walks to an ancient hermitage. Be a friend, brother, sister, mother or father to somebody else.
Except for one misunderstanding with a fellow Canadian eco-ally, they came: from Greece, Uruguay, Italy, the United States, and UK. Buddhist nuns, educators,
physical ed. instructors, psychologists, counselors, park rangers and many other professionals were in attendance. They spoke French, Italian, English, Greek, Spanish, and with their collective wisdom, about the same ideas: How can eco-counseling better impact education? How can we utilize Italian parks for ecopsychological practices? How do we expand the healing circle to include more countries and the work of isolated eco-allies? How can we charter EES to
other countries and persons so that grassroots efforts can blossom with the help of a mother organization? How do we create better connections with other
ecopsychological organizations? How do we enlist the help of local authorities, the press, and politicians to implement this healing? Meanwhile, with the
questioning we also learned and discussed specific ecopsychological practices and therapies.
In between these sessions there was food: homemade Italian pizza cooked in an outside oven, hunting for mushrooms and using them in a simple pasta dish, or
sampling a dozen cheeses and local wines. When sleep came it came fast and sweet under the alpine stars—which are the same stars for half of the planet
but for those three nights were particularly brilliant, almost announcing a birth.
First there were ten and now there are fifty or more EES members. The unanimous desire was to convene in another conference two years from that October date.
Ideas were volunteered to host the second EES conference in a convent near Rome, or in Greece, or even as far away as Uruguay. The fifty are adamant that they will bring another fifty.
The fifty in attendance made a sacrifice of time away from their families, a monetary sacrifice, but are unanimous in their knowledge that in these desperate times it is our collective actions and organizing that could help tilt the balance toward sanity. In the midst of planetary and psychological turmoil we are a family among many others keeping our children safe and promoting the type of parental practices (human-growth practices) that can assist others in ecopsychological becoming. At the very least, we are acting like a safe house for when the world returns to its sense.
Let’s expand the healing circle, wherever we are, whatever we do.
Jorge Conesa-Sevilla, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Psychology Program
Northland College
1411 Ellis Ave.
Ashland, WI 54806
Tel.: (715) 682-1284
Fax: (715) 682-1849
3. U.K. ECOPSYCHOLOGIST CHRIS JOHNSTONE: *FROM OVERWHELM TO ENGAGEMENT*
The UK*s Dr. Chris Johnstone, an addictions counselor and ecopsychologist, is causing a stir with his Joanna Macy-inspired ecotherapy. He has an excellent article, *From Overwhelm to Engagement,* in the current issue of Permaculture, the British Permaculture magazine, on the stages of psychological transition from what he calls *inspirational dissatisfaction* (waking up to the mess we*re in) to positive engagement in solutions using a range of ecotherapy tactics including story, mythology and *beautiful action.*
Unfortunately the article isn*t posted online but more info is at www.permaculture.co.uk. Chris's website is www.greatturning.org and you can read another of his articles there on how to change the future by changing the story at http://thegreatturning.net/stories.php Chris publishes an e-newsletter called *The Great Turning Times* that you can receive for no cost. It covers *how we find our power to respond to global issues.*
4. EXCITING ONLINE READING:
a) MIND AND ENVIRONMENT: A PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVEY OF PERSPECTIVES by Craig Chalquist
www.terrapsych.com/mindandenvironment.html
This excellent piece by Craig Chalquist, M.S., Ph.D., is expanded from a presentation to students from the John F. Kennedy University Graduate School of psychology in Oct 2006. It presents the sad story of how thoroughly psychotherapy has neglected our relationship with the environment.
b) DISSERTATION ON SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EARTH by Werner Sattmann-Frese
Werner Sattmann-Frese, PhD, would like to share with us his recently completed dissertation entitled *Sustainable Living for a Sustainable Earth: From an Education for Sustainable Development Towards an Education for Sustainable Living*. In this study he examines the background of our ecological crises from depth, holistic, and transpersonal psychology perspectives. He also conceptualises an eco-self transformation as a progress of consciousness associated with behaviourist, cognitive, postmodern, depth, holistic, and transpersonal psychology.
Looking for people to collaborate with, Werner is currently rewriting his dissertation to be published as a book on ecological perspectives of sustainable community development and would appreciate your input in this project. His dissertation and associated training materials are available on his website at www.slse.edu.au. He will email the manuscript in progress to people wishing to get involved or collaborate on a joint project. His email address is slse@bigpond.net.au
c) JOHN SEED DEFINES ECOPSYCHOLOGY
Thanks to Dr. John Scull for drawing our attention to this. It's a very clear and excellent article defining ecopsychology by John Seed at Schumacher College in the UK.
http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/articles/teachers-articles/ecopsychology.html
Through thousands of years of anthropocentric conditioning, absorbed by osmosis since the day we were born, we have inherited shallow, fictitious selves, and have created an incredibly pervasive illusion of separation from nature.
A century ago Freud discovered that many of the symptoms of his patients could be traced to repressed sexual material. However, our sexuality is only the tip of the mighty repression of our very organic nature.
The reason why psychology is sterile and most therapy doesn't work is that the "self" that mainstream psychologies describe and purport to heal doesn't exist. It is a social fiction. In reality the human personality exists at the intersection of the ancient cycles of air and water and soil. Without these there is no self and any attempt to heal the personality that doesn't acknowledge this fundamental fact is doomed to failure. There is no "self" without air and water and soil. Incredible amounts of energy go into futile attempts to heal what is really a fictitious self while our actual, ecological self suffocates.
Some of the best thinking on Ecopsychology comes from the neo-Jungian James Hillman. In his *100 Years of Psychotherapy and the World*s Getting Worse*, Hillman blames a lot of the social and environmental problems that we face on the fact that the people who should be out there changing the world are in therapy instead. They treat their pain as a symptom of a personal pathology rather than as a goad to political action to bring about social change. Therapists create patients instead of citizens.
d) MEGAN QUINN: *BEYOND DESPAIR: NURTURING THE NEW WORLD*
http://www.communitysolution.org/06pconf1.html
Thanks to nature counselor Sarah Edwards, Ph.D., LCSW, for alerting us to this excellent speech by Megan Quinn, the outreach director of The
Community Solution, given at the 2006 Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions:
I*d like to start with a quote. It*s from Arundhati Roy, an author from India: *Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.*
Can you hear another world breathing? When do you hear her breathing? Importantly, when do you not hear her breathing?
This shows how easy it is to focus on the destruction of the old paradigm rather than the creation of the new. How easy it is to be frightened at the coming collapse, to fear how governments will react, how people will react, how we will react. How easy it is to despair, when we feel alone amidst a crazy, misdirected, self-destructive, and ultimately suicidal world.
I challenge us to feel this despair when we need to, but to move beyond it as well. I challenge us to live our lives in a way where we not only hear another world breathing, but breathe with her.
With every small action that we take, indeed every thought, word, and deed our most feared future becomes less likely. Every time we choose to actively co-create our lives rather than passively consume our lives away, we are making an impact far beyond what we can comprehend.
5. NEWS FROM U.K. ECOPSYCHOLOGIST MARY-JAYNE RUST
I will be teaching the Ecopsychology module (together with Dave Key) as part of the MSc in Human Ecology at Strathclyde University from March – May 2007. This is exciting as it’s the first and only Ecopsychology module in the UK.
Dave Key and I will also be offering a week’s course in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland, called ‘Working with the Transformative Power of Wild Places” Sept 22 – 29th 2007. I enclose the (preliminary) flyer for this (see below).
I will also be offering two courses for therapists wanting to integrate Ecopsychology into their practice – this means thinking about how this happens in a room in the city, as this is where most therapists practice. There will be one course for therapists in Norwich, Norfolk, and another in Ireland, both in Autumn 2007, tba.
I am very interested in developing a theory and practice for therapists bringing these ideas into regular practice. I wonder how many therapists you know of in the USA who are doing this? There are very few here, and it’s hard to get the ideas out. I believe the ideas of Ecopsychology are more developed in the USA, partly because you have more of a tradition of wilderness work, in all its different forms. But when I meet therapists from the USA, they often imagine that all the exciting Ecotherapy work is going on over here.!!!! So I am wondering what is your experience?
I am also possibly travelling through USA at the end of Feb 2007, on my way back from NZ. I wonder if there is any chance of gathering a group together to talk about these issues, as I would be so interested to meet up with therapists over there who are experimenting with all these ideas.
All the best,
Mary-Jayne
Working with the Transformative Power of Wild Places
September 22nd – 29th, 2007
with Mary-Jayne Rust & Dave Key
This one week course offers a rare chance to explore the emerging field of ecotherapy in a magical and beautiful setting in Scotland.
This course is for anyone working, or hoping to work, in the healing and therapy professions, and who is interested in tapping into the transformative and healing power of outdoor spaces.
The core of the week will be experiential, and at the heart of this experience is a chance for all participants to spend a day alone in nature. There will be reflective time to explore this experience as well as a chance to discuss some of the writings on the subject of human-nature relationships in the light of our current ecological and social crises.
For more information and booking please contact Mary-Jayne on mj@mjrust.netor Dave Key on info@footprintconsulting.org
6. BOOK REVIEW: LIVING IN THE BORDERLAND: THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE CHALLENGE OF HEALING TRAUMA by Jerome S. Bernstein
In this fascinating book, Jungian analyst Jerome S. Bernstein explores the emergence (or re-emergence) of the *Borderland*, which he describes as *a spectrum of reality that is beyond the rational yet is palpable to an increasing number of individuals.* Bernstein believes that *a greater openness to transrational reality is experienced by what he calls Borderland personalities* (often people who have experienced trauma) and that by listening to them we may discover *new possibilities for understanding and healing confounding clinical…enigmas.*
Bernstein describes the Western ego and how the Western psyche became split off from nature. He contends that there are *indications of a reconnection with nature that is taking place in Western culture…a profound, psychic process in which the very psychological nature and structure of the western ego is evolving through dramatic changes.*
Traumatized people can be on the forefront of this transition, Bernstein believes. *Borderland people personally experience…the split from nature…They feel (not feel about) the extinction; they feel (not feel about) the plight of animals that are no longer permitted to live by their own instincts, and which survive only in domesticated states to be used as pets or food. Such people are highly intuitive. Many, if not most, are psychic to some degree, whether they know it or not.*
He views the Borderland as a phenomenon of the collective unconscious. *It is an evolutionary dynamic that is moving the western psyche to reconnect our overspecialized ego to its natural psychic roots. It is my view that we are all in the grip of this unfolding. Indeed, it is possible that our very survival…may depend on this shift that is taking place. And he believes that Borderland personalities are at the forefront of this phenomenon.
This book is very original and fascinating reading. At the very least, it may help mainstream clinicians see their borderline and trauma patients in a new light. But it offers and asks much more. It challenges us all to give great respect to those on the front lines of the psychological and spiritual transformation from nature-disconnection to nature re-connection – which is true ecotherapy.
7. CHECK OUT THE ECOTHERAPY BLOG
The ecopsychology blog has been created by the International Community for Ecopsychology and features many new posts each week, including some on Ecotherapy by Linda Buzzell-Saltzman. Please check us out and post your comments on any of the blog topics. Just go to http://thoughtoffering.blogs.org/ice_seeds
8. ECOPSYCHOLOGY COURSES AND DEGREES
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, Glasgow, Scotland. Ecopsychology: How can psychology help us understand and heal the environmental crises? Leads to a Certificate of Professional Practice. A four day residential workshop in a rural location from 29 Mar to 2 Apr, 2007 plus private study.
http://www.che.ac.uk/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=188 University of Strathclyde.
NAROPA UNIVERSITY, Boulder, Colorado, USA. Ecopsychology and Environmental Psychology is a course taught by John V. Davis. See http://www.johnvdavis.com/ep/index.htm
Ecology and psychology, having grown up on different sides of the mountain, met one day in the thick brush at the ridge line separating their home territories. Their first contact was awkward and hesitant. They began to circle, they danced, and finally they joined. Their offspring are twins. One is vigorous, skillful, joyous, and sustainable environmental action. The other is the wonder, intimacy, healing, expansion, and grace of finding ourselves at home in the world. They realized, too, that there was much work to be done together. There were other such liaisons in the thick brush at the edges, but this one was particularly juicy, wild, and fertile.
ONLINE COURSE: spring semesters. DEEP ECOLOGY IN CONTEXT. This course provides the background for the emerging field of ecopsychology. It is in fact a required course for completion of the Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology with an Ecopsychology Concentration at Naropa University. If you have ever wondered where ecopsychology came from, what its philosophical roots are, or what related fields and movements might be, this course reveals all! Although it is officially a graduate course, it is open to everyone who has had at least two years of college, and it can be taken for credit or noncredit from anywhere in the world. Check out the course description at http://www.naropa.edu/distance/courses/ENV520e.htm
ANIMAS VALLEY INSTITUTE, Durango, Colorado. Founded by psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin, the author of Soulcraft, the Institute offers a nature-path to spirituality and soul development. www.animas.org
ENDICOTT COLLEGE, Beverly, Massachusetts and The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES) now offer a new variation of their online Master of Education in Integrative Learning program that may be of special interest to students of ecopsychology. This initiative is being led by Core Faculty member Lauren de Boer, former editor of EarthLight Magazine, and additional faculty with backgrounds in adult and childhood education, science, philosophy, and social change.
Established in 1996, this innovative *all on-line* program has attracted learners from all over the world. Students have always chosen an Emphasis Area that focuses on their individual interests and accounts for one third of the credits toward graduation. In this new program, this Emphasis Area is developed from the learner*s Great Work, or *allurement,* a passionate life interest to which they feel committed. The larger framework for integrative learning is provided by the remainder of the course, which is identified as *eco-cosmological.* An eco-cosmological context is one which stretches our thinking beyond *sustainability* by presenting cosmology as the fundamental and unifying context for the learner as an integral part of Earth's larger ecological community.
For more information: www.ties-edu.org
PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE, Santa Barbara, California. Dr. Ed Casey teaches *Psyche and Nature,* which has three parts: exploring ancient notions of the natural and the psychical in myth and philosophy; the ingrediency of place in nature and contemporary life; the wild and wilderness. Water as a basic element is discussed at each phase throughout. Authors range from Plato to Gary Snyder, Ivan Illich to Keith Basso, Susan Griffin to Paul Shepard. www.pacifica.edu
PROJECT NATURE CONNECT*S INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL EDUCATION now has grants that can provide FULL FUNDING of a degree or certification program for those who need it. PNC offers many excellent programs in nature-connected counseling, education and self-help. http://www.ecopsych.com
Note: I keep an ongoing list of college and university programs that offer ecopsychology courses and/or degrees: if you’d like to receive the list, please e-mail me. Also, if you’re teaching a class, let me know!
9. ON THE WEB…
* INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ECOTHERAPY. Our website at http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy has current and past issues of Ecotherapy News. Many, many heartfelt thanks to ecopsychology maven Heather Witham for creating and hosting our site! Heather is an amazingly creative person who has some wonderful web offerings and gifts for us all. Check out: www.mymoonster.com a delightful way to get yourself back in sync with nature*s cycles and explore radical ecopsychology.
* ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUPS: Join one or both of our LIST-SERVS where you can discuss activist ecopsychology with others interested in this topic:
act_ecopsy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This group is working collectively to develop ecopsychological resources to assist in The Great Turning from life-destroying society to life-sustaining culture.
chat_act_ecopsy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This group is a chat group where activist ecopsychological folk can discuss their activities and interests.
* INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR ECOPSYCHOLOGY. If you haven’t yet discovered it, check out www.ecopsychology.org: the best ecopsychology site on the web! Read *Gatherings* journal; sign up for the list serv to chat, check out the ecopsychology blog at http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ice_seeds. Sign up on the Practitioners page to tell the world about your ecopsychology or ecotherapy practice...
* Check out the great academic search engine: http://scholar.google.com. Look up *ecopsychology,* *ecotherapy* for lots of interesting stuff…
* http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/content/v19.2/04_Hibbard.pdf - *Ecopsychology: A Review* by Whit Hibbard. This article reviews the history and current state of the Ecopsychology field. There*s a lof of interesting stuff, including the issues of whether destroying our habitat is a form of mental illness, the nature of our denial, consumption/techno addictions etc.
* * * * *
Ecopsychology holds the promise of offering original practices for personal, social and ecological renewal.
Andy Fisher, author of Radical Ecopsychology (2002)
How does health care change when symptoms are seen as signals from the larger world or signs of disconnection from it?
Sarah A. Conn, Ph.D., The Ecopsychology Institute at the Center for Psychological & Social Change; Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School.
How is it that psychology is the last of the social sciences to acknowledge the environmental crisis?
John Seed
Psychology, so dedicated to awakening human consciousness, needs to wake itself up to one of the most ancient human truths: we cannot be studied or cured apart from the planet.
James Hillman
