Summer 2008
HEADLINES: ECOTHERAPY GOES MAINSTREAM IN UK, EUROPE!
Contents:
- QUOTES OF THE MONTH: Richard Heinberg, Joanna Macy, Molly Young Brown, James Hillman
- ECOTHERAPY GOES MAINSTREAM IN UK, EUROPE
- THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF ANIMALS by Marc Beckoff
- PORTRAIT OF AN ECO-THERAPIST: Martin Jordan
- DR. DONNA LAMAR’S *LIVING FARM* HEALS ANIMAL AND HUMAN TRAUMA
- THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CLIMATE CHANGE by Bob Doppelt
- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: LORRAINE FISH, ANDY FISHER
- POST YOUR ECOPSYCH/ECOTHERAPY EVENTS, COURSES ON OUR WEBSITE
- ON THE WEB. Cool websites to check out, including our website where you*ll find current and past issues of this newsletter, and the International Community for Ecopsychology: 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 send e-mail addresses to add to the mailing list, news to pass along, or your insights, please do so! Joining is absolutely free.
1. QUOTES OF THE MONTH
Taking in traumatic information and transmuting it into life-affirming action may turn out to be the most advanced and meaningful spiritual practice of our time.
-- Richard Heinberg, “How do you like Collapse so far?”
Western psychology has virtually ignored our relationship to the natural world. Our connection to the source of life does not figure into its definition of mental health, nor is our destruction of our life-support system included in its list of pathologies.
-- Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown
To what does the soul turn that has no therapists to visit? It takes its trouble to the trees, to the riverbank, to an animal companion, on an aimless walk through the city streets, a long watch of the night sky. Just stare out of the window or boil water for a cup of tea. We breathe, expand, and let go, and something comes in from elsewhere…
-- James Hillman
2. ECOTHERAPY GOES MAINSTREAM IN UK AND EUROPE
Ecotherapy is now going "official" and mainstream in the UK and Europe! Unfortunately it’s still too narrowly focused on “outside exercise” as the only ecotherapy treatment modality, but it’s at least a big step forward in convincing mainstream practitioners, agencies and the government that ecotherapy is a viable, evidence-based treatment that needs to be adopted as a practice of choice in the treatment of mental health and social problems.
I’ve highlighted a few things I was especially happy to see:
The University of Essex and MIND, the British mental health organization presented a conference on June 2, 2008 on *ECOTHERAPY AND THE GREEN AGENDA FOR MENTAL HEALTH: Why Health Professionals Need to Get On Board*
Caroline Lucas, Green Party Member of the European Parliament for SE England was the keynote speaker. The themes she addressed included:
*Ecotherapy and green exercise for public health
*Nature-based approaches for mental health services
*The role of green care approaches for those working with the most marginalised and those with complex needs
*Costs and benefits of green approaches
*Green projects, such as social and therapeutic horticulture and offender and nature programmes
The conference reached out to the following professions, encouraging them to attend:
* Health professionals, including GPs, psychologists and psychiatrists
* Relevant specialists from primary care trusts and local authorities
* Providers of voluntary sector services to mental health service users
* Relevant specialists working in the criminal justice system, such as probation officers
* Local and national health policy and social policy specialists
* Mental health service users
* Land management, wildlife and conservation professionals
The goals of the conference were to:
* Inform healthcare professionals about the potential benefits of green exercise, as well as voluntary sector specialists, substance misuse workers and people working with offenders
* Encourage healthcare practitioners to see green intervention as a mainstream treatment or therapeutic option for people experiencing mental health problems
* Promote good practice in green exercise and ecotherapy and
provide an opportunity for policy specialists to engage with service
users and service providers
* Debate the best way forward for the green agenda for mental health
* Identify and address opportunities, risks and barriers to progress.
This conference followed up on Mind’s May 2007 campaign *Ecotherapy: The green agenda for mental health,” and the agenda-setting research by the University of Essex that contributed to the campaign. It brought together service providers, service users, leading academics, policy-makers, opinion formers and others. This event provided a unique forum for examining the evidence on the mental health benefits of ‘ecotherapy’ and ‘green exercise’ – getting outdoors and getting active in a green environment as a way of boosting mental wellbeing. It will look at practical ways to take the green agenda work forward, both nationally and locally, and how to learn lessons from best practice around the country.
3. THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF ANIMALS by Marc Bekoff
Trans-species psychology is a rapidly growing field and Marc Bekoff’s new book *The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorry, and Empathy – and Why They Matter* with a foreword by Jane Goodall is one of its new bibles.
Beckoff is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He and many other researchers have come to the conclusion that emotions are not limited to naked apes (us) but occur across the animal spectrum. Anyone who lives with a companion animal knows this, of course, but in our culture we’ve denied that other animals feel pain or joy, which was convenient when we wanted to hurt, kill or otherwise exploit them. *They don’t have feelings like we do.*
This book and others like it blow the lid off that argument. For more info, go to Beckoff’s website.
4. PORTRAIT OF AN ECOTHERAPIST: MARTIN JORDAN
Martin Jordan is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and counsellor. He is also a senior lecturer in counselling, psychotherapy and mental health at the University of Brighton.
After completing a first degree in psychology, Martin went on to train as a drama-therapist, and became interested in working with stories and myths. He subsequently engaged in further training in counselling psychology and integrative psychotherapy. He has worked in mental health settings both in day centres and residential treatment. He set up and managed a therapeutic service for drug using offenders and worked with families experiencing drug problems.
His interested in nature and therapy has developed through his work with and participation in men’s groups and nature-based therapy experiences. He trained as a vision fast facilitator at the School of Lost Borders, culminating in a four day and night vision fast in Death Valley, California.
*At times of personal crisis and struggle I have used nature as a co-therapist. Spending time in nature has helped to centre and ground me, giving me the space and support to deal with my issues. I have also found metaphors of my struggle in the form of trees, plants or animals which have enabled me to understand and process my difficulties. I believe that deep within us there is a stored memory of our ancestors’ intimacy with nature. We can bring to life this powerful bond through trips into woods, fields and up mountains, walks by lakes and the sea. Even by sitting in our gardens surrounded by plants, or growing vegetables in our allotments, we can find healing and peace.*
You can check out Martin’s website and practice, which he calls *Ecotherapy: Personal Healing and Healing for the Earth.
The word *ecotherapy* has many definitions. Here is Martin’s: *Ecotherapy is a union between the ideas of ecopsychology and psychotherapy. Fundamental to ecotherapy is our connection to the natural world and the environment we live within. Ecotherapy uses a range of practices in order to help us connect with nature and ultimately with our ‘inner’ nature. Personal distress can be alleviated by developing the mutual connection between inside and outside. Through learning to care for the natural environment we learn to care for and nurture ourselves. Ecotherapy is about personal healing and healing for the earth.*
5. DR. DONNA LAMAR’S *LIVING FARM* TREATS ANIMAL AND HUMAN TRAUMA
Dr. Donna Lamar, the author of Change the World One Life at a Time: Transcending Abuse and Neglect, already knew that! Here’s what she tells us:
*The Farm: Where Living Things Grow, Inc. is a nonprofit youth and family mental health, preventive organization that works to strengthen youth and families of all ages and walks of life. We work to change the world one life at a time by helping individuals and families heal and grow so they can then become productive members of society.*
Here is a story Donna tells about ecotherapy and recovery from abuse:
A STORY ABOUT SONNY, THE DONKEY AND ECO-PSYCHOLOGY:
The Farm is a place where people as well as animals can come to heal and grow. Sonny is The Farm's miniature donkey, an endangered breed. He came to us after being rescued from being severely abused and neglected. He had no hair on his long wonderful ears as they had been scarred and damaged. One of our favorite “Sonny stories” is when he first came to The Farm. He had just arrived and was beginning to settle into his new home when we had two visitors to The Farm’s Nature Center. We had been told he was gentle from Donkey Rescue (a rescue organization for donkeys where Sonny came from), BUT we didn’t know him yet. One of the visitors had just been diagnosed with cancer; the other had ridden horses for years. We thought Sonny would probably connect to the past rider; however, Sonny had other ideas! He immediately went to the one with cancer, put his head on her chest and nickered at her! He knew which person needed it, the one with cancer! He and this person still have a close relationship and she has since recovered from cancer. This is the work of eco-psychology - people, plants, animals and nature coming together to heal and grow.
THE FARM WORKS TO PREVENT:
Abuse and neglect
Teen pregnancy
Juvenile delinquency
Substance abuse
Violence
Undeveloped potentials
Family conflict
THE FARM WORKS TO DEVELOP:
Strong youth and families.
Value of life
Fully functioning individuals
Individual/family potentials
Learning, healing & growing
Stronger, healthier communities.
Leadership/teamwork
Healthy Families
6. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CLIMATE CHANGE: Bob Doppelt
Bob Doppelt, Director of the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon, shares new research on how to help people make cognitive and behavioral changes to protect the climate.
Here are some highlights from Bob’s e-mail to us:
To: People concerned about global warming
Re: New research on methods for changing thinking and behavior to
protect the climate
From: Bob Doppelt, UO Climate Leadership Initiative
April 4, 2008
This note is to share some of the findings of my research on methods to achieve the cognitive and behavioral changes needed to protect the climate. The information will be published in my new book *The Power of Sustainable Thinking: How To Create A Positive Future For The Climate, The Planet, Your Organization and Your Life* which will be
released this summer (in press, Earthscan Publishing).
I decided to share some of the findings now rather than waiting until the book is released because time is of the essence to make big changes if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Last week, noted climate scientist James Hansen posted an article on his website stating that the world needs to keep greenhouse gas concentrations below 350 parts per million if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. We are already at 385 ppm. If Hansen is
right, this means that the IPCC models were too conservative and we have already overshot.
Hansen said the world must work very quickly to ensure that the overshoot is brief. His solution is to rapidly phase our coal. Shifting away from coal and other polluting fossil fuels without widespread economic problems will require rapid and dramatic increases in energy efficiency as well as the use of renewable energy. Making this shift will necessitate fundamental changes in thinking and behaviors.
Over the past three years I've been examining theories and approaches to behavioral change that can help people make the needed shift. I've met with and worked with numerous change experts and tested out different approaches. Below are three key findings that may help improve the ability of climate activists to motivate people to make
the changes needed to protect the climate.
(1) Communications and Other Change Mechanisms Must Match the Stage of Change
Almost all theories of change agree on one thing: people and organizations (and I believe society at large as well) move through a natural, predictable and measurable series of stages whenever they make a significant change in thinking or behavior.
The change process begins with what I call 'disinterest' stage (where people are not willing to alter their thinking or behavior to protect the climate), then moves to 'deliberation' (where people consider changing their behavior to protect the climate, but not ready to
act), then moves to 'design' (where people make a plan to change but are still unsure about acting), then to the 'doing' stage, and finally, after 6 months of so of taking steps to reduce emissions and protecting the climate moves to the 'defending' stage of change
(where they try to maintain their new approach against numerous obstacles until it becomes second nature).
Different communications and other mechanisms are more helpful in motivating people to move to the next stage of change than others. *It is therefore very important to understand the stage of change of your target audience and then to use appropriate change mechanisms for that stage.* There are numerous ways to asses stages and develop
appropriate change mechanisms.
(2) Emphasize Benefits in the Early Stages of Change
To move people out of the early stages of the change process toward action (i.e. reducing emissions, supporting climate policies), change mechanisms must help people decide that the upsides of new behaviors outweigh the downsides by a 2 to 1 margin. That is, they must *see two benefits for every downside*.
People remain frozen in the early stages of change because the cons of climate protection outweigh the pros in their minds. Even when the pros and cons are about equal, people will usually not change because when new behaviors are required people tend to overemphasize the cons and under emphasize the pros.
Economic benefits can be part
of the benefits (e.g. cost savings, new jobs), as can risk avoidance (e.g. avoiding severe climate change, avoiding major costs), but as can be seen with addicts who can see the damage they do but still do not change, risk avoidance is not nearly as powerful as *positive* personal benefits such as feeling better about yourself or the place you work, feeling healthier, getting approval from key personal supporters and peer groups normative behaviors) etc.
So, if we want to move people toward action on the climate, be it personal involvement with reducing emissions or supporting policies to do so, communications and other change mechanisms need to help people either *see the many benefits of climate protection for themselves and/or minimize the downsides of the change* (by, for
example, helping people see that most of the downsides are temporary, not permanent).
(3) Increase Self-Efficacy
The research is rather clear that to make a fundamental change in thinking and behavior, people must not only believe that the benefits outweigh the costs by roughly a 2 to 1 ration, they also must believe *they have the capacity to make the required changes under a variety of circumstances.* If people do not believe they can make the changes, or believe their efforts will not make a difference, even when they see more benefits than downsides to the new behaviors,* they will stay stuck.* Communications and other change mechanisms must therefore *help people gain confidence in their capacity to successfully make the changes needed to resolve the climate crisis.
*Please feel free to use this information anyway you want and to pass it on to others. I hope in some small ways it can increase our capacity to mobilize rapid change.
Bob Doppelt
Director, Resource Innovations
Director, Climate Leadership Initiative
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
http://ri.uoregon.edu
http://climlead.uoregon.edu
E-mail: bob-cwch@att.net
7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Lorraine Fish, Andy Fisher
Linda,
I wanted to let you know that I have been offered (and I've accepted) the position at Northland College :-) It’s very exciting and I want to thank you for posting it in your newsletter (I would never have known about it otherwise). I think this will be an excellent new turn in the road for me.
Lorraine Fish, Ph.D.
* * *
Linda,
Thank you for continuing to put out the newsletter. A good way to keep abreast.
Andy Fisher, author of Radical Ecopsychology (Note: one of the best books in our field!)
8. POST YOUR ECOPSYCHOLOGY EVENTS, COURSES AND DEGREES ON OUR WEBSITE
Ecopsychology and ecotherapy events, courses and programs can now be posted directly on our website. If you*re a student, check that out; or if you’re a teacher, post your classes there. Also, 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. .
9. ON THE WEB…
* INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ECOTHERAPY. Our website 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 ACTIVIST ECOPSYCHOLOGY DISCUSSION GROUP: Join a list-serv where you can discuss activist ecopsychology with others interested in this topic:
chat_act_ecopsy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
* INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR ECOPSYCHOLOGY. If you haven’t yet discovered it, check it out: the best ecopsychology site on the web! Read *Gatherings* journal; sign up for the list serv to chat, check out the ecopsychology blog. Sign up on the Practitioners page to tell the world about your ecopsychology or ecotherapy practice...
* ONLINE PERMA-PSYCHOLOGY DISCUSSION GROUP: This group discusses the connections between permaculture (permanent culture/agriculture, ecological design) and psychology.
* Check out the great academic search engine. Look up *ecopsychology,* *ecotherapy* for lots of interesting stuff…
