THE WILD WAY

Where inner and outer landscapes meet

“We hold in the places, we weren’t held” ~ Ruella Frank

There is something different that can happen when we step outside the familiar walls of the therapy room. The pace changes. Our senses become more involved. We notice the ground beneath our feet, the weather on our skin, the movement of trees, the sounds around us and the changing landscape. Sometimes, being outdoors creates space to hear ourselves differently. The Wild Way is an invitation to explore therapy through relationship with the living world. It brings together relational, embodied and nature-based approaches, allowing the landscape to become part of the therapeutic process rather than simply a backdrop to it. We might walk, sit beneath trees, spend time beside water, pause and listen, notice the seasons, explore movement or simply allow ourselves to be in a place without needing to rush towards an outcome. You don’t need to be experienced with nature, particularly “outdoorsy”, or know how to walk mindfully. There is no right way to be outside. We can find a way of working that feels comfortable and meaningful for you. Being outdoors can offer another doorway into embodied awareness. We might notice what happens in your body in response to being outside, how your breathing changes, what catches your attention, or what you instinctively move towards or away from. The sensory world can sometimes bring us into the present moment in ways that words alone cannot. The landscape can also become a place where inner and outer worlds meet. A path, tree, river, changing season or shifting weather might evoke something within us, offering an unexpected image, metaphor, memory or perspective. We can become curious about these moments without needing to assign them a fixed meaning. My approach is influenced by ecopsychology and an animist understanding of our relationship with the more-than-human world. I am interested in moving beyond seeing nature simply as a resource for human wellbeing and towards a sense of relationship, reciprocity and belonging. The trees, birds, water, soil, weather and wider landscape can become part of our awareness and, sometimes, part of the conversation. This work can offer space to explore our relationship with place, belonging, change, loss, identity and the wider living world. It can also offer a different pace for therapeutic work. Sometimes we need to talk as we walk. Sometimes we need silence. Sometimes we might stop and notice something together. Sometimes movement, sensory awareness or simply being outside is enough. As with all my work, I approach this collaboratively. Your experience, needs and sense of what feels right guide the process. Safety, consent, boundaries and choice remain important, and we can always adapt the pace, place, route and way we work together. I am also mindful that being outdoors can bring its own complexities. Weather, accessibility, privacy, physical safety and our relationship with public space all form part of the conversation, and we will find an approach that takes these things into account. I bring the same relational and embodied foundations to outdoor work as I do to therapy indoors. We can notice what happens between us, explore patterns of relating, and remain curious about how the wider environment shapes our experience. The difference is that the room becomes larger. The landscape gives us another place to listen, notice, move and reflect. Ultimately, The Wild Way is an invitation to explore the relationship between inner and outer landscapes. To step outside without needing to leave yourself behind. To notice what happens when the living world becomes part of the therapeutic relationship. To pause, listen and perhaps remember that we are not separate from the world around us, but held within a much larger web of relationship.