Earthworks explorations
Explorations is a foundation year in Ecotherapy. The course can be taken for your own personal development, or for counsellors as a foundation for offering your own outdoor practice. The outdoor days are held in eight locations near Dundee, Scotland, on eight days over a year, with tasks and reflections between the meets. Dates to be arranged. I am considering offering this as four weekends for people travelling from further afield, so let me know if this would be of interest.
This one-year course aims to develop your confidence in the outdoors to undertake independent hikes and camps, and proficiency to guide outdoor therapeutic sessions if you are a Counsellor. The course is open to all and is aimed at adults.
The course will take you to eight living landscapes within an hour's travel from Dundee city centre, to woods, hills, beaches, waterfalls, caves and meadows and marshes. Each has its own splendour and gifts to learn from and offers us a reflective theme for the day. The days will begin with exploring an aspect of natural history in the environment and then explore a linked psychological skill or topic, with reflection and discussion inspired by our own explorations in the morning.
Practical outdoor skills will be shared throughout the day so that over the year you will acquire the knowledge and skill you need to independently spend the day outdoors comfortably in all seasons, and to keep in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, including the 'leave no trace' principle.
The themes for the course have been slowly developed over 10 years and drawn from my experience offering psychotherapy for the past 25 years. I've distilled down the key elements from a number of therapeutic approaches that I see as crucial foundations for wellbeing and resilience, as well as for managing anxiety and the impact of trauma.
The Celtic Medicine wheel provides a framework for these themes, and as we move through the year we will encounter each symbolic direction - North, East, South and West- which represent the stages of life from infant, child, adult and elder. We will explore each aspect, drawing from our connection with that landscape to discover or develop the different sides of our personal medicine wheel to create balance, authenticity, purpose and grounded stability.
Each outdoor day is accompanied by a booklet containing the exercises and key concepts explored on the day; space for your personal observations of nature and reflections; and home practice activities to continue to anchor the learning in your daily life.
Dates to be confirmed, beginning late 2026 or Spring 2027. The course will meet on eight Saturdays throughout the year (roughly every 6-8 weeks). Lift-share to be arranged from Dundee to each of the 8 locations. The course cost can be paid up front or in eight instalments of £30/40/50. Each day begins on location at 10:30am-3pm. You will be sent a kit list after enrolment.