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Humans are living out of touch with the natural world. We move
from air conditioned cars to office buildings with music piped into
elevators. Seasons change but our experience with the world does
not - the temperature remains at a comfortable 70 degrees inside
insulated buildings. Some individuals believe that this loss of
connection with the seasons, with nature and with our own inner
cycle affects us far more than we realize.
More than 20 years ago, feeling that her office space practice
left something vital out of her world and her clients' treatment,
Lesley Shore, Ph.D., addressed the issue by moving her practice
to a 23-acre farm in Medfield, MA. New England Psychologist's
Catherine Robertson Souter, recently spoke to the self-proclaimed
ecopsychologist, who now works hard to bring a sense of that missing
connection to her clients.
Q: What is an ecopsychologist?
A: An ecopsychologist isn't one tiny little defined thing. For
me, that term reflects that my work is guided by an orientation
that is much larger than psychology. It's about ecology; it's about
sustainability and interconnection with earth and nature.
Ecopsychology isn't one of the divisions of APA. As a matter of
fact, there are "ecopsychologists" who are not psychologists. The
man who coined the term wasn't a psychologist. It's a way of thinking
that reflects the interconnection between all of the beings - earth,
nature, people. It's about caring about what happens on the earth.
If we can't survive on the earth, people feel that. That people
feel the disconnection on some level is my belief and in my work.
Ecopsychology looks at the person as a system in their own body,
mind, spirit, psyche and soul - all of that, but also the interrelation
with family, society, the place where they live, the ground that
they live on, the animals that live in the area, the whole world.
Q: It sounds like a holistic approach.
A: It is a very holistic orientation. I see healing, as a process
and that people need to go through a process in order to address
their symptoms. My orientation isn't to suppress a symptom, but
to find out what that symptom is trying to tell us. What's that
symptom there for? For example, if somebody is overeating, maybe
they are not getting enough emotional nourishment or spiritual nourishment,
or other kinds of nourishment.
Q: What brought you out here, to this type of practice?
A: I came at ecopsychology through a variety of threads. Originally,
I was psychoanalytical. A lot of women started coming to me because
they were looking for a different type of therapy, one that acknowledged
the feminine aspects of their being. In the process, I got involved
in feminist psychology. In our society, we value thoughts, machines,
science - more than we value nature, emotions and process. I'm looking
to integrate the two, to come back to balance. I was also growing
organically and reading about diet, nutrition, and herbs. Gradually,
those two aspects of me came together - my psychology personality
interested in balancing masculine and feminine socially and spiritually
and my personal [interests].
Q: How does this affect how you deal with patients?
A: That's a tough question because it will affect, but won't
necessarily determine, how I treat every client. I will look at
their diets, their lifestyles, and all the aspects of their lives.
I use some psychoanalytical orientation, behavioral approaches,
cognitive therapy approaches, systems approaches - some of this
is about systems theory. I use any tool that I think might work,
including hypnosis, including "go out and take a walk in the woods."
I also look at the spiritual aspect of people's lives. It doesn't
matter what their spiritual orientation is, but it is something
that I subtly might encourage.
I often emphasize and focus on helping people connect with their
bodies because often in our society, we are dissociated from our
bodies. In psychotherapy, we are trained to ask "why" questions
- "why might you feel this way or why do you think you feel this
way?" My emphasis is more on the "where" questions - "where do you
feel what you feel?" So, if someone were to say they feel sad, I
might ask, "and when you feel sad, where do you feel sad?" Our feelings
are often bodily sensations in some way. My goal is to help them
move into the feeling and connect with their bodies and learn more
about their bodies from that angle rather than through the cognitive.
Ecopsychology to me is a broad vision. It doesn't just guide how
I am as a psychologist; it guides how I am [as a person]. So, my
clients come to an office that is set off from the road - it is
somewhat separate from your mechanistic, high tech society world.
My office has plants in it and big windows. People walk a thyme
pathway to get to the office.
Q: Sounds nice.
A: Oh, I'm lucky. And quite honestly there are many times I've
debated getting office space where I would be with colleagues like
I used to be years ago. I missed some of the connections with my
colleagues when I moved out here. At the same time, I felt it was
more important to expose clients to even the subtlety of coming
here. It's a very subtle effect and it's an important effect. I've
had clients come in and say, 'you know, every time I come into your
driveway, something shifts for me,' and then we'll talk about what
shifts for them. Sometimes it's that they are coming into my office,
but often it's more that they start to feel more peaceful.
Q: How widespread is ecopsychology? Are there many other psychologists
who have a similar viewpoint?
A: In Massachusetts, Sarah and Lane Conn spearheaded an ecopsychology
institute at the Center for Psychology and Social Change [in Cambridge].
There are quite a few other people, also in other disciplines. Some
are anthropologists, some are ecologists.
Q: How have your clients reacted to the atmosphere you have
created? What is the result of being surrounded by nature?
A: Well, hopefully people leave here having worked through what
they came here to work through. But, even without my recommending
it, they start to take walks outside in nature. And, it isn't just
nature - I believe it's very important to do a variety of activities
like painting, writing, creative activities that enable them to
connect with other parts of themselves. So I'll encourage people
to do whatever is their special calling.
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