Ecopsychology in Coaching

Vine Wood by Agnes Pelton, 1913

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"Ecopsychology is situated at the intersection of a number of fields of inquiry, including psychology, ecology, spirituality, and environmental philosophy. Ecopsychology explores the synergistic relation between personal health and well-being and the health and well-being of our home, the Earth."

~International Community for Ecopsychology

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A foundational element of the work we do with clients needs to be re-orienting them to the natural world. Like a sonar ping that has landed on the wrong object and thus delivers incorrect information, we are all the time seeking understanding about who we are in the world from the wrong places.

As leaders and guides for our clients, we must help them notice that connection with nature is necessary for health, mental clarity, and for the sense of peace and contentedness that often eludes them.

The world is an animate place.

"Those who dwell... among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life " ~Rachel Carson

When we are leading our clients to a life of wholeness, it will always include a reverence for the natural world. When we bring to consciousness the connection that exists between us and the Earth, we can access the grief from the destruction that has been wrought and integrate it. We can reverently reside here with a quiet and calm presence; one that integrates its membership and understands the egalitarian nature of it all.

In the Authentic Wholeness Coach Training Certification Program, I teach elements of panpsychism and animism that can be used in coaching and facilitation to help our clients connect to the anima mundi, the world soul, and develop a sense of groundedness and connection to the natural world. As we work toward bringing more of who we are to consciousness, there are few things that aid the process more than communion with the natural world.