The Science Behind Ecotherapy
From the smells of essential oils emitted by trees to the sounds of running water, there are significant findings that support the calming, healing, and restorative aspects of spending time in nature. In The Nature Fix (2017), Florence Williams investigates and explains a multitude of ways nature benefits humans both psychologically and physiologically. Since our world has begun rapidly urbanizing, people have lost touch with the surroundings in which we adapted, evolved, and thrived. According to Williams, we don’t experience nature often enough anymore to realize how restored it can make us feel, “nor are we aware that studies also show [natural environments] make us healthier, more creative, more empathetic and more apt to engage with the world and with each other.” To support her claim that despite our rapid industrialization, nature remains an innate value of humans, Williams notes that humans “pay considerably more for residences or hotel rooms right on the beach, or the pastoral ninth hole, or a quiet, tree-lined street.” Additionally, experts find that “these habitat preferences are remarkably consistent across cultures and eras.” As a result of our increased separation from the natural environment we still instinctively crave, levels of stress, depression, diabetes, migraines, hypertension, and crime are elevated while attention, memory, eyesight, and social skills worsen.[1]
Much of what scientists have begun to confirm about the health benefits of nature have long been known and treasured by Indigenous peoples. When discussing the role nature plays in mental well-being, it would be remiss to ignore the fact that the intertwinement of humans and the natural world is Indigenous wisdom that has been around for centuries. Charles and Cajete (2020) write, “Evidence is growing within non-Indigenous communities of the scientific validity of these ancient as well as contemporary practices, and their adaptive value today and for the future.” Instead of the scientific method, traditional and Indigenous wisdom is “based on natural law, the workings of the land and relationships… the essence of Native science is predicated on seeking and supporting life.”[2] Because most Indigenous languages do not have a word for “science,” Indigenous philosopher Kyle Whyte uses the term traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) instead. Whyte defines TEK as “the knowledge, practice, and belief concerning the relationships of living beings to one another and to the physical environment, which is held by peoples in relatively nontechnical societies.” TEK and science differ in their rationality, but are complementary disciplines; TEK is beneficial to scientific advancement. One reason that’s been noted as to why Indigenous communities do not conduct research is because, “Societies without computing capacities built into their TEK systems cannot value quantitative research in the same way that it is valued in natural science disciplines.”[3] Thus, the rise of ecotherapy and nature-based interventions may be new to the Western world, but is in no way a modern discovery nor novel idea to be claimed.
To understand why nature offers such beneficial rewards to the human body, one can look to the biophilia hypothesis for a fundamental explanation. Williams (2017) explains this hypothesis succinctly: “We feel most ‘at home’ in nature because we evolved there.” Given that humans have a predisposed inclination toward nature, we can build upon the biophilia hypothesis with two pronounced theories that support this claim: the Stress Recovery Theory (SRT) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART). These two theories have surfaced through research on restorative environments, and speak to different aspects of the recovery powers of nature. Rita Berto, an environmental psychologist, finds that “although in both theories natural environments are more restorative than urban or artificial environments, they differ in what drives individuals toward a restorative place: In SRT it is physiological stress, whereas in ART it is mental fatigue.”[4] In Figure 1, the component of nature is visualized as an important step on the way toward restoration, and even more crucial for vitalization. ART and SRT are two theories that, in conjunction with the biophilia hypothesis, provide scientific rationale for the efficacy and legitimacy of eco-psychological interventions.
Figure 1
Process of personal and environmental aspects of fatigue and recovery
Note: This sketch was produced by Rydstedt & Johnsen in 2019 [5]
One reason nature-based therapies and environmental calls-to-action are gaining popularity is due to the rise in ADHD diagnoses in children.[6] Williams finds that, “Of the 6.4 million diagnosed kids in America, half are taking prescription stimulants, an increase of 28 percent since 2007” (Williams p. 233). The Attention Restoration Theory (ART) presents reasoning for why nature is advantageous specifically for focus and concentration. Originally proposed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, ART works through four different cognitives states: 1) a clearing of the head, 2) mental fatigue recovery, 3) soft fascination, and 4) reflection.[7] Therefore, as someone takes a walk, their attention becomes increasingly restored because of the lack of cognitive demand, as well as the added scenery and stimuli that evoke reflection and interest in the person. One notable study conducted by Frances Kuo and Andrea Taylor (2004) found that kids showed fewer ADHD symptoms after spending time in nature. The symptoms evaluated in their study included: remaining focused on unappealing tasks, finishing tasks, listening to and adhering to directions, and restraining oneself from distractions. Kuo and Taylor suggest that “green time” can be used to supplement or even replace ADHD medication, especially in cases where medication is undesirable or ineffective.[8]
Richard Louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” in his 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods. In the book’s introduction, Louv writes that rapidly advancing technologies “are blurring the lines between humans, other animals, and machines. The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct-- that we are what we program-- suggests limitless human possibilities.” In trying to build technologies that will allow us to manipulate and control every aspect of our reality, Louv argues that “the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings [and] their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience.”[9] Ecotherapy is one way to reconnect with the natural roots from which humankind came. A burgeoning kind of therapy, ecotherapy has promising research and comparable effectiveness to other types of therapy and medication. Buzzell and Chalquist (2005) explain ecotherapy as an “umbrella term for nature-based methods of physical and psychological healing,” which “represents a new form of psychotherapy that acknowledges the vital role of nature and addresses the human-nature relationship.” In their book Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind, Buzzell and Chalquist put to rest some of the diminutive myths that surround ecotherapy (e.g., it’s a fad, or it just involves thinking good thoughts), and emphasize the dire need for increased nature integration in today’s world:
The problem of our day is an inner deadening, an increasingly deployed defense against the stresses of living in an overbuilt industrialized civilization saturated by intrusive advertising and media, unregulated toxic chemicals, unhealthy food, parasitic business practices, time-stressed living, and (in the United States) relentlessly mindless political propaganda.[10]
Nature-based therapies offer a multitude of empirically-supported benefits such as decreased heart rates and increased focus. In her book, Williams (2017) provides numerous evidence-based examples of nature improving the human mind and body. One study she describes, conducted by immunologist Qing Li, found that middle-aged Tokyo businessmen who spent three days in the woods experienced a 40 percent increase in natural killer cells. Natural killer cells are part of the innate immune system that limit the spread of tumors and microbial infections, thereby preventing tissue damage.[11] A month after the expedition ended, their natural killer count was “still 15 percent higher than when they started.” This study demonstrates that the positive health effects of nature are not fleeting, but can remain in the body benefiting the system long after the initial encounter.
In addition to the surplus of evidence for its health advantages, nature can also be a safe and non-judgmental place to breathe, reflect, connect, and process difficult feelings like grief. Chris Russo, a psychotherapist and ecotherapist at Seattle Anxiety Specialists, notes that everyone’s experience and relationship to nature is different. Therefore, taking time to investigate that unique relationship is a critical first step to embarking on an eco-therapeutic path. Russo adds that, “Nature can be stressful for people, so recognizing that relationship is important. Different natural environments have different effects on people.” Additionally, Russo observes that in our consumerist culture, people sometimes enter therapy looking for a “quick fix.” While research suggests that two hours a week in nature is linked to significant health benefits, Russo believes that connection with nature is more than prescriptive. He believes that “places and spaces can be coping skills in, and of, themselves,” so using therapy to explore and understand one’s current relationship with nature could help one discover a new relationship with their environment that offers a continual source of comfort or relief.
One way Russo integrates nature with therapy is by bringing objects like pinecones and rocks to a therapy session for a client to interact with and use for reflection. He also has gone on walks in parks and observed the sounds of rushing waterfalls with clients. When asked if he felt a difference in his effectiveness as a practitioner when in nature, Russo replied, “so much of nature-based therapy is in-the-now. When we’re walking and moving along together I can be more creative than I might be in an indoor space because there is constantly new stimuli to interact with and explore.”
Ecotherapy is not just for nature enthusiasts and wildlife lovers. Ecotherapy is for anyone who is interested in exploring their existing feelings and attitudes toward nature or through nature. It is an opportunity to investigate how society’s split from natural environments has personally impacted oneself and one’s community, and consequently affected mental well-being. It can also be a vehicle to spark conversation and memories in therapy, while at the same time bringing some of those stress-reducing and attention-boosting benefits. Time and again, empirical findings as well as TEK point to the psychological as well as physiological utility of nature. We are only just beginning to understand how the integration of nature and talk therapy can be meshed together for more profound healing, restoration, and connection than either could afford individually.
For more information, click here to access an interview with Journalist Florence Williams on nature therapy.
Contributed by: Maya Hsu
Editor: Jennifer (Ghahari) Smith, Ph.D.
References
1 Williams, F. (2018). The nature fix: Why nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative. W.W. Norton & Company.
2 Charles, C., & Cajete, G. A. (2020). Wisdom traditions, science and care for the earth: Pathways to responsible action. Ecopsychology, 12(2), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2020.0020
3 Whyte, K. P. (2013). On the role of traditional ecological knowledge as a collaborative concept: A philosophical study. Ecological Processes, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/2192-1709-2-7
4 Berto, R. (2014, October 21). The role of nature in coping with psycho-physiological stress: A literature review on restorativeness. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4287696/.
5 Rydstedt, L. W., & Johnsen, S. (2019). Towards an integration of recovery and restoration theories. Heliyon, 5(7), e02023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02023
6 Summers, J. K., & Vivian, D. N. (2018) Ecotherapy – A Forgotten Ecosystem Service: A Review. Front. Psychol. 9:1389. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01389
7 Ackerman, C. E. (2021, August 1). What is Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory (art)? benefits + criticisms. PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/attention-restoration-theory/.
8 Kuo, F. E., & Taylor, A. F. (2004, September). A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence from a national study. American journal of public health. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448497/.
9 Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods: Why children need nature, how it was taken from them, and how to get it back. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
10 Buzzell, L., & Chalquist, C. (2009). Ecotherapy: Healing with nature in mind. Sierra Club Books.
11 Vivier, E., Tomasello, E., Baratin, M. et al. Functions of natural killer cells. Nat Immunol 9, 503–510 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1582