Nature Therapy in the Winter
Bundled up with our winter coats and scarves, I meet my clients out at a beautiful park, these brave souls who also find the winter wind enlivening and the snow draped on trees stunning. We have come to discuss the themes they have sought out to address in therapy, but instead of sitting in front of screens or inside an office, we have decided to meet here. We pause to notice the quiet that the fresh blanket of snow brings, the stillness of bare trees inviting us to look more honestly at ourselves and approach the healing work in humility. We savour moments of sunshine as the earth turns from this essential source of heat.
Together we walk through difficult experiences, stories of times they were not their best selves, or times when hurts from the past were triggered. We explore paths they had not yet considered, and places they are all too familiar with. The comforting presence of trees offer their shelter from the winter winds and their wisdom. The wise old trees remind us to come back to our roots, to be present with the difficulties and barriers to thriving, to guide us back to our core. Pausing with my clients, the quiet forest reminds us to connect more clearly with our intuition, to hold true to what they already know is right.
In this season of falling away, of darkness and cold, we are invited to move through our inner work. I witness power as people delve deeply and humbly into the wounds of their lives, and open within themselves possibility for patterns of healing. It is remarkable how the wounds of our family of origin can replicate themselves in patterns of relationships, and as a psychotherapist to open possibilities of healing for how people understand and experience themselves and choice in their relationships with others.
In this season of long shadows that illuminate the sparkling snow, we lean toward balance within ourselves and in our lives, we are reminded of what truly nourishes us, and awaken what can bring us more into alignment with thriving.
At the end of our therapy session, I check in to see how our time was for my clients. Even on these cold winter days, I am often surprised to hear how glad people are that we met here, out in this peaceful park, with the lessons from nature, and that yes, they would like to do this again. I get the sense too that Mother Earth welcomes our return.
It is humbling to witness the power of these moments, to be part of holding space that promotes a depth of healing inside ourselves, in our relationships, and in our relationship with the earth.
As you open moments of quiet reflection in these dark days of winter, I wish you the solitude and comfort of the winter forest, held in a space of possibilities for healing.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Melissa Clews-Hunt, MSc, RP, RMFT-SM
Psychotherapist & Clinical Supervisor
Healing Spaces Therapy