We create this content from the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Nations. As settlers providing therapy services in so-called Vancouver, we’re committed to moving beyond acknowledgment into active accountability.
This post is part of our “Therapy Beyond Walls” series, exploring how healing happens beyond traditional office settings. Other posts in this series examine somatic work, art therapy, EMDR, play and animal partnered sessions.
In This Guide:
- Understanding Nature-Based Therapy
- Land Connection in Healing
- Finding Nature in Urban Spaces
- Cultural Relationships with Land
- Nature-Based Practices
- Seasonal Approaches to Healing
- Next Steps
Understanding Nature-Based Therapy
When we think about therapy, many of us picture a traditional office setting – perhaps a couch, some carefully placed plants, soft lighting. But healing doesn’t always need four walls. Through our Vancouver nature-based therapy services, we recognize that some of the most profound therapeutic work happens in relationship with the natural world.
Nature-based therapy integrates the healing power of land connection with therapeutic practice. This isn’t about simply moving a therapy session outdoors – it’s about understanding nature as an active participant in the healing process. The rustle of leaves, the rhythm of waves, or the stability of mountains can offer metaphors and direct experiences that support our therapeutic work.
Key elements that make nature-based therapy unique:
- Moving beyond traditional settings to engage with natural environments
- Incorporating natural elements as tools for healing and growth
- Understanding land as medicine and teacher
- Working with natural rhythms and cycles
Land Connection in Healing
For many SDQTBIPOC+ communities, connection to land carries both deep wisdom and complex histories. Through culturally responsive counselling in Vancouver, we understand that land relationship can be both a source of healing and a site of historical trauma.
Consider the experience of walking through Pacific Spirit Park. For some, these trees hold ancestral memories and traditional practices. For others, they represent displacement and loss. In our therapeutic work, we hold space for this complexity, understanding that healing often involves reconnecting with land while acknowledging historical and ongoing impacts of colonization.
Through our practice, we explore questions like:
- How does your cultural background inform your relationship with nature?
- What memories or traditions connect you to land?
- How do you navigate urban spaces while maintaining these connections?
- What does sustainable relationship with land mean for you?
Finding Nature in Urban Spaces
Living in Vancouver presents unique challenges and opportunities for nature connection. While we’re surrounded by stunning natural beauty, accessing these spaces isn’t always straightforward. Financial barriers, transportation issues, and time constraints can make regular nature connection feel impossible.
Yet nature exists even in our most urban spaces. A crack in the sidewalk where dandelions persist. The way light changes through your window as seasons shift. The small patch of sky visible between buildings. These everyday connections with natural elements can become powerful anchors for therapeutic work.
Some ways we work with urban nature:
- Walking therapy sessions in local parks
- Developing relationships with balcony or windowsill plants
- Noticing seasonal changes in neighborhood trees
- Finding quiet natural spots in busy areas
Cultural Relationships with Land
Different cultures hold unique relationships with land and nature. Some traditions see no separation between human and natural worlds. Others have specific practices for maintaining balance with natural elements. As providers of anti-oppressive therapy in Vancouver, we honor these diverse perspectives while supporting healing connections.
A client once shared how their grandmother taught them to greet plants before harvesting their medicine. Another described finding comfort in watching the moon cycles as their ancestors had done. These cultural connections provide powerful resources for healing work.
We support cultural connection by:
- Honoring traditional practices and knowledge
- Understanding historical relationships with land
- Supporting reconnection with cultural nature practices
- Recognizing the impact of displacement on land relationship
Nature-Based Practices
Our approach to nature-based therapy integrates various practices that support healing while honoring cultural and personal relationships with land. These aren’t one-size-fits-all techniques, but rather adaptable approaches that we customize to each person’s needs and circumstances.
For instance, one client found healing through developing a relationship with a local tree, visiting it through different seasons and weather conditions. Another discovered that watching birds from their apartment window provided a way to track their own emotional patterns.
Some practices we might explore together:
- Mindful walking in accessible natural spaces
- Working with plant allies for emotional support
- Weather awareness and emotional patterns
- Seasonal transition rituals
Seasonal Approaches to Healing
Living on the West Coast means experiencing distinct seasonal patterns – from the grey rains of winter to the smoke-tinged summers that climate change has brought. These seasonal shifts affect our mental health and healing processes in profound ways.
Through anti-oppressive therapy, we work with these natural cycles rather than against them. This might mean adapting our therapeutic approaches as seasons change, or finding ways to honor natural rhythms even in urban environments.
We explore questions like:
- How do different seasons affect your emotional landscape?
- What cultural practices help you navigate seasonal transitions?
- How can we work with rather than against seasonal patterns?
- What wisdom do natural cycles offer for your healing?
Next Steps in Your Healing Journey
Ready to explore how nature-based therapy and BIPOC-centered counselling in Vancouver might support your healing journey? Here are some ways to connect:
- Book a free consultation to discuss how nature-based therapy might support your journey.
- Take our 3-minute questionnaire to receive personalized therapist recommendations.
- Explore our free resource database for more information about anti-oppressive approaches to healing.
Have questions? Reach out to us at connect@venturouscounselling.com or text 778.775.7504.
Your healing journey can extend beyond office walls. Nature offers unique opportunities for growth and healing that honor your full experience and cultural wisdom.
Continue Exploring Therapy Beyond Walls
Coming up in this series:
- Moving Through: Somatic & Sensorimotor Therapy in Practice
- Art Speaks: Expressive Arts Therapy Beyond Words
- EMDR Beyond the Binary: Cultural Considerations
- Play Without Permission: SDQTBIPOC+ Centered Therapy in Vancouver
- Paws, Reflect, Resist: Animal Partnered Therapy in Vancouver
A BIPOC clinical supervisor can offer guidance that is culturally attuned and rooted in anti-oppressive practices, creating a supportive space for both personal and professional growth.
