"Human identity and fulfillment depend on the effective expression of our …relationship with the living world. Humans require intimate affiliation with nature, not just to ensure their material and physical well-being but also to satisfy essential emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. The degradation of this dependence increases the likelihood of a diminished existence, materially, affectively, cognitively and evaluatively. The human species can no more disassociate itself from the natural world than it can from the products of its cultural creation. Biological diversity and ecological process persist as crucibles on which human physical and mental fitness rely…Nature's healthy functioning conditions the human capacity to lead lives of emotional, intellectual and spiritual value."
Stephen R. Kellert

The fairly new fields of ecopsychology and ecotherapy can help us to help ourselves and our clients out of the cycle of hidden depression, anxiety and shame that no amount of Prozac can erase. Those working in this area offer suggestions for meaningful ways of improving lives.

Connecting with nature in one's daily life seems a simplistic prescription, but it is a powerful one. We can begin to ask our clients not only about their relationships with people but also about their relationship with the earth. What was the most emotionally and spiritually powerful experience they had with nature as a child? As an adult? What feelings were aroused? How did these experiences make them feel about themselves? Did these experiences cause change in their lives? Who in their family or their ancestry was especially attuned to nature? How much time each day, each week, do they and their family spend outdoors vs. indoors? Do they know what phase the moon is in today? Do they have a garden or raise plants at home? Do they have relationships with animals? When was the last time they felt a powerful connection to nature? Are they helping children to connect to nature? What nature rituals, if any, do they practice? Do they celebrate the solstices? How simple or complex are their lives? How comfortable are they with their physical environment? And, if they aren't comfortable, what if any changes are they making? It can be surprising how deeply these few questions may touch a client's soul and unlock a Pandora's box of lifestyle issues needing to be dealt with. I also like to ask about my clients' relationship with the food they ingest. Do they know where it comes from? Do they feel confident that it nourishes them, body and soul, or do they have anxieties about what may lurk there? Do they know the people who raise their food?

My own relationship with the biosphere has changed radically over the last 16 years since my husband and I moved away from the megalopolis and into a human-sized town where we have begun to grow more of our own food in our backyard garden. This simple, age-old practice has expanded our consciousness in ways we couldn't have imagined when we set out. We began to understand, know and love every square inch of our land the way a lover knows every inch of their long-time beloved's body. In the southwest corner of the back garden, there is enough sun in winter for broccoli or peas. At the bottom of the hill there is clay soil that gets boggy in winter, smothering the seedlings (compost alert!). In the lower bed the Asian pear has become a perfect trellis to grow the chayote squash on. The patio garden catches the light of the full moon as the angel's trumpet releases its seductive perfume. Gaia's charms are specific, immanent.

We began to pay attention to seeds and seedlings as if they were children. Which had been fumigated before we got them? Which were grown in organic soil? We read the fine print on the pesticide bottles in the local garden centers and began to realize how much of what we'd eaten in the last fifty years was grown using just such chemicals. We joined an organic farming organization and began to chat with organic farmers at the local Farmer's Market about fascinating topics like non-toxic treatments for peach curl or the best low-chill apple trees for coastal Southern California. We started to pay attention to weather and phases of the moon and animal tracks and the fact that hummingbirds and pollinating bees were growing scarcer in our area. Our senses were enlivened by this intimate connection. Our eyes were opened to local problems we hadn't noticed before. For example, the sign at the rose garden across from the Santa Barbara Mission warning about pesticide spraying every Monday (while children and dogs played nearby) took on ominous new meaning. We were relieved when the spraying was stopped.

As for most people, this is an evolutionary process for us. One thing leads to another. One awareness opens our eyes, minds, and hearts for the next. We are still beginners, but we can never again be unconscious of our responsibility and our effect on the situation, positive or negative. Many others – perhaps many of you — have been working on saving the earth for years and perhaps even integrating ecopsychology principles and techniques into their practices. We eagerly listen to them to learn their secrets, just as we listen to the 74-year-old organic dried tomato matriarch at our Farmer's Market who has introduced us to a revolution in sensual enjoyment.

The changes I have seen in my own mental health are startling. I feel more awake to the world. I feel stronger, more confident. My mood is up, my anxiety down. A vague sense of malaise has lifted. My senses are more open. I notice the exact reddish-brown color of a budding rose leaf, the curve of a blue scrub jay's wing, the enticingly earthy smell of perfectly "cooked" compost we have made from our yard clippings and table scraps. I have more joy in my life, even in the face of the huge ecological losses we all face. I am relieved to be off the fence about my responsibilities at this historical moment in time. A recent dream encouraged me to "rejoin the revolution" of my hippie/feminist youth, and I'm enjoying the renewal of excitement and energy that comes from getting involved again with the messy business of trying to change the world a tiny step at a time.

A few years ago my husband and I got together with some eco-minded friends to form a local "Simplicity Circle" where we help each other wrestle with both the macro and micro systems which sometimes seem to conspire to keep our lives complex and disconnected from nature. We read books, share tips and ideas and work to create more sustainable, earth-friendly lives.

We're also joining with neighbors to save local open space, to clean up our town's urban creeks and polluted beaches, to design permaculture gardens. And yes, we need to give money to the bigger global efforts too.

Focusing on nature helps me put my own personal challenges in proper perspective. I gain great peace and nurturing from the quiet time I schedule to be with Mother Nature each week – sometimes alone, or with my husband and with friends, relatives, children, fellow members of the tribe. I find that relating to people in the context of nature heals and expands relationships in ways I wouldn't have predicted. And moving around outside creates a wonderful balance for my sedentary psychotherapy work.

Do I preach to clients? I do my best not to, of course. But in sessions I find myself exploring new areas. I wonder if clients have a favorite place to walk to heal their spirit when hurting or troubled … or an outdoor movement practice (and how might that feel different from an indoor practice?). I ask what people notice about the land and water around them. I inquire after the health of mountains and streams near their houses. I wonder what pre-human nature was like in the area where they live and ask them to project what the region will look like in their children's old age. I want to know what feelings people have about the physical environment where they spend most of their time. I ask about the pace and rhythms of their lives. I wonder about what their ideal life would include.

These, to me, are now crucial diagnostic questions, relating directly to the health of individual, family, community and planetary body-mind-soul.

RESOURCES:

Clinebell, Howard. "Ecotherapy: Healing Ourselves, Healing the Earth: A Guide to Ecologically Grounded Personality Theory," New York: The Haworth Press, 1996.

Gallagher, Winifred. "The Power of Place: How Our Surroundings Shape Our Thoughts, Emotions, and Actions," New York: Poseidon Press, 1995.

Glendinning, Chellis. "My Name is Chellis & I'm in Recovery from Western Civilization," Boston: Shambala Press, 1994.

Howard, George. "Ecological Psychology: Creating a More Earth-friendly Human Nature." South Bend, Indiana: Notre Dame Press, 1997.

Kellert, Stephen R., "Biodiversity and Wildlife." Washington, DC: Island Press, 1997.

Kellert, Stephen R., "The Value of Life: Biological Diversity and Human Society." Washington, DC: Island/Shearwater Books, 1996.

Kellert, Stephen R. and Edward O. Wilson, eds., "The Biophilia Hypothesis," Island/Shearwater Books, Washington D.C. 1993.

Roszak, Theodore, Mary E. Gomes and Allen D. Kanner, eds. "Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind," San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995. Includes essays on theory and practice of ecopsychology by luminaries like Jungian psychologist James Hillman.

Spretnak, Charlene. "The Resurgence of the Real: Body, Nature and Place in a Hypermodern World," New York: Addison-Wesley, 1997. Excerpts from this book, plus an interview with the author, can be obtained at http://www.montara.com/Real/. Winter, Deborah Du Nann. "Ecological Psychology: Healing the Split Between Planet and Self," New York: Addison-Wesley, 1996.

ECOPSYCHOLOGY ON-LINE:

The International Community for Ecopsychology
www.ecopsychology.org

The International Association for Ecotherapy
http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy

Linda Buzzell-Saltzman, M.A., MFT has been a marriage and family therapist since 1975. She currently practices in Woodland Hills and Santa Barbara, focusing her work on life design and career issues. She is the founder of the International Association for Ecotherapy and is currently co-editing "Ecotherapy: Psyche and Nature in a Circle of Healing" for Sierra Club Books. She has also worked extensively in the entertainment industry and for two years did research for the late Capt. Jacques Cousteau on four documentaries about Antarctica. She is the author of "How to Make It in Hollywood" (HarperCollins) and the founder of the International Documentary Association, a professional association of documentary filmmakers. She and her husband Larry Saltzman co-founded of the L.A. Chapter of CAMFT.