Ariana is founder of The Earthbody Institute, a professional, educational, and transformational forum dedicated to the cultivation of dynamic mutual relationships with the natural world.
Ariana Candell, LMFT, R-DMT, Ecotherapist, is a licensed psychotherapist with 20-plus years experience and a pioneer in the emerging field of Somatic Ecotherapy. For the last decade, she has been an active leader in transforming the field of psychotherapy to include connecting to the natural world as an essential part of healing.
Ariana is founder of The Earthbody Institute, a professional, educational, and transformational forum dedicated to the cultivation of dynamic mutual relationships with the natural world. She is creator of the groundbreaking Professional Ecotherapy Training and Certification Program, now entering its fourth year. She facilitates workshops locally and internationally, including Online Ecotherapy Certificate Programs, Ecotherapy Immersion Programs and consultation groups. She also teaches Ecotherapy seminars as an adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University.
Ariana believes that developing a consistent nature connection practice with elements of somatic awareness and openness to the sacred can foster a more holistic and balanced way of life. She is devoted to her own daily spiritual practice in nature, and encourages her private clients and students to develop their own practice. In all of her programs, she facilitates creation of a strong Earth-honored community, fulfilling an ancient human need of experiencing a profound connection to the sacredness of all beings.
Ariana is thrilled to be practicing Ecotherapy outdoors in the East Bay hills with more than half of her individual clients, and also brings the power of nature indoors to her private practice in Berkeley. Her main therapeutic influences include Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy, Somatic Ecotherapy, Dance Movement Therapy and Earth-based trainings from The School of Lost Borders.
Kimberly (Kim) Keenan, MS, MSW, LCSW, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the State of Illinois and adjunct professor of graduate studies at The University of Illinois. She earned her PhD in Applied Ecology and has been regionally and nationally recognized for her work specializing in improving food systems within vulnerable communities. In addition to having maintained a thriving family therapy practice, Kim is a national speaker, educator and freelance writer. She is the author of Anxiety Mapping for Kids and has been a contributing author of over 20 articles in her 28 years of experience working with families and communities. Her research in the health benefits of nature is featured in Health Environment & Research Design Journal, “Nature Contacts: Employee Wellness in Healthcare”, Winter 2015. In 2012, she created her own not-for-profit, The gitm Foundation, where she serves as education and research director. She serves on the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity Taskforce, the Homegrown by Heroes Illinois State Veteran Agricultural Workgroup and directs the Tri County Fresh Food Hub.
My experience in academia is as extensive as my work in mental, physical, and spiritual health. During my 15 years a senior lecturer and adjunct professor, I taught a wide range of courses at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as other New England-area colleges and universities, before working as a mental health professional in the Portland, Oregon area and eventually relocating to San Diego to focus on independent therapeutic services. My communication style is both effective as well as non-dogmatic, and allows me to reach easily across generations and cultures. Through my experiences and background as student, professor, mental health professional, and ecopsychoIogy practitioner, I have developed the ability to communicate, engage, and empathetically connect with individuals of diverse cultural, social, and religious backgrounds, including varied ages, genders (including non-binary genders), and sexual orientations.
My graduate and post-graduate research includes ancient Celtic and Megalithic studies, non-traditional fields of research, human health, dialectical thinking, educational issues, eco-rhythms, holotropic breathwork, advanced astrology, the science and art of herbalism, yoga, and tai chi.
I feel that life is a process and, as such, is better lived with at least some modicum of consciousness and sense of personal accountability. We live in a very short-sighted society that seems overwhelmed by the fast-paced environment we have created. This is especially evident in the public’s willingness to accept the current medical model of psychiatric treatment and diagnosis of mental illness disorders that may be, in fact, a direct result of our disconnection from nature. I came to this conclusion after many years' experience working within the mainstream medical model of psychiatric treatment as a mental health professional as well as a crisis and addiction specialist. In consideration of this, I believe my purpose is to help others better navigate life’s challenges and vicissitudes and that this may best be done using holistically-based mindfulness techniques and practices.
GoodTherapy.org also provides resources about different types of therapy including ecotherapy.
Short Description: Psychotherapist, Ecotherapist, Author, College Educator.
Description: Co-editor with Craig Chalquist of Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind (Sierra Club Books, 2009) and blogger for The Huffington Post on ecotherapy and ecopsychology. Adjunct Faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute in the Depth Psychology M.A./Ph.D. program in Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology and Ecopsychology. Editorial Board member of Ecopsychology journal, co-editor with Craig Chalquist of Dec. 2015 special issue on "Ecopsychology and the Long Emergency." Author of "The Many Ecotherapies" chapter in the 2016 Palgrave Macmillan anthology Ecotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, edited by Martin Jordan and Joseph Hinds.
Website: http://www.ecotherapyheals.com
City: Santa Barbara
State or Province: California
Country: USA
Email address: lindabuzzell [at] gmail [dot] com
Tags: ecopsychology, ecotherapy, ecoresilience, ecospirituality.
As a profession, she -along with her colleagues- manages a counselling service and works behind the scenes to ensure that the service stays open for those in need. She is passionate about providing access to mental health services, especially to those who encounter obstacles in obtaining support. She holds a Canadian Certified Counsellor designation.
When she is not at the counselling office, you can find her online as an instructor in psychology (and soon: ecopsychology!) for a global online university. Or you might catch her buying yet another book for her dream library.
Intensely interested in nature of all kinds (Nature with a capital N, human nature, animal nature, nature of relationships, etc.), much of her studies and leisure are related to ecopsychology, ecotherapy, psychology, relational cultural theory, and others.
Convinced that much of our nature is connected to early development and inheritance, Mary is also drawn to subjects like neuroscience, attachment, epigenetics, the formation of values and culture and their relationship to identity, and the subsequent effects of all these on individual and generational resilience.
On a path of unhurried spiritual reflection, she is undergoing a process of decolonization and development by re-immersing in inherited nature-based indigenous traditions and philosophy. One of her most valued inheritance is the innate understanding of living nature namelessly and corporeally (how does one explain this?). She wishes to integrate decolonization methods in the study and teaching of ecopsychology, and in the practice of ecotherapy.
When there's an extra minute or two, she volunteers for a center on indigenous studies, a school of Thai massage, and sits on a couple of non-profit boards. And when she gets more than a minute, she may dance, pick up a paintbrush, use an old typewriter, and give massage. Everyday she non-verbally communicates with plants and animals and gives thanks through the air. She also sings for no reason at all and to no one in particular.
She hopes to widen her eco-sensitive connections through this directory.
I identify as a depth therapist - psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and ISTDP (intensive short term dynamic psychotherapy.) I have also researched, written about, and practice ecopsychology/ecotherapy. With some clients this includes doing outdoor therapy sessions, when appropriate. At times I also draw on mindfulness and buddhist perspectives.
At times I am able to offer reduced fees to activists, and am available for sessions via skype for those who are not Christchurch or NZ based.
The Mindful Ecotherapy Center offers online continuing education in ecotherapy and mindfulness. We have multiple online course offerings, and we also periodically offer live seminars.
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed of upcoming events and courses at www.mindfulecotherapy.org
ABOUT MINDFULNESS-BASED ECOTHERAPY
Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy (MBE) is a blending of Mindfulness and Ecopsychology. MBE uses nature to facilitate mindful awareness. MBE is used as a framework for helping individuals and families to find deeper connections in their own lives, and to give more meaning and enjoyment to the activities of daily living.
ABOUT ONLINE COURSES
The Mindful Ecotherapy Center offers online courses for continuing education for mental health professionals and the general public. All of our course work is evidence-based, with clearly defined learning objectives and evaluations. Our courses all come with an extensive list of references and citations, plus learning objectives and course descriptions. You may download this information when taking a course so that you may submit it to your license board for approval if needed.
I am one of two UK delegates on the International Adventure Therapy Committee and am vice chair of the Institute of Outdoor Learning Outdoor and Adventure Therapy Special Interest Group (OATSIG).
I've worked with the UK Mindfulness Trainers Network helping to develop national guidelines for mindfulness teachers and trainers and am an Ecotherapist and Humanistic Psychology practitioner. Having taught at Salford, Lancaster and Manchester Metropolitan Universities I am now researching the role of nature and mindfulness in the Faculty of Health and Science at the University of Cumbria.
An Ecotherapist and Humanistic Psychology practitioner, I have a BSc(Hons) in Integrated Therapy and an MSc which examined the role of environment in improving health. I am a member of the Mountain Leader Training Association and Institute of Outdoor Learning.
My current work includes helping people with chronic conditions as well as those coping with stress and anxiety. In the past I have worked with a wide range of clients, from young people in the Criminal Justice System through to business executives.
In addition to health based work I have been a mountain leader for over thirty years, former military medic and am an emergency care practitioner. I'm also Casualty Care coordinator of a Lake District mountain rescue team and a medic on adventure races. I am a TRiM (trauma risk management) assessor for Mountain Rescue and the Police.
In addition to the listed website I have a blog at:
http://naturallymindful.blogspot.com