Environmental Arts Therapy
- Entering the wood between the worlds -
"There is always a sense of descending into stillness and retreat as we walk together over the hillsides and follow the path down through the trees to the little cabin by the stream. We light a woodburner and make ourselves comfortable. I ask you how you are and you share a little, reflecting on the time you have had since last we met, the things that happened and the feelings that came with them. Some of these reflections hold depth and promise and we take those out into the wood to work with."
Extract from 'Environmental Arts Therapy and the Tree of Life' by Ian Siddons Heginworth
Environmental Arts Therapy, or EAT, is the psychotherapeutic use of natural materials, locations, themes and cycles. At the core of the practice is its deep connection to the turning year and seasons, and the stories and traditions associated with those cycles. This is not only a new and exciting approach to psychotherapy but is also a return to more ancient healing practices. It involves ritual, story, art-making in nature, and a conscious connection to both the land and seasons. This is all underpinned and informed by the latest theoretical research in psychology, the arts therapies, neuroscience and ecology. At its heart, EAT is about the relationship between the natural world and the feeling self, which we as individuals see reflected in nature.
Facilitating 'Environmental Arts Therapy' session for teenagers with mental health problems at Sharpham Outdoors, south Devon.
"Environmental Arts Therapy is a unique synthesis that creatively bridges many arts and therapeutic disciplines ... this can benefit people struggling with major life difficulties."
Dr. Glenn Roberts FRCPsych MD,
Consultant in Rehabilitation Psychiatry & Recovery,
Lead on Recovery for Royal College of Psychiatrists.
I am a qualified Environmental Arts Therapist, having completed the postgraduate level certificate in EAT at the London Art Therapy Centre, under the tutorship of EAT pioneer, Ian Siddons Heginworth. I offer Environmental Arts Therapy to both individuals and groups and can also provide workshops and taster sessions at conferences, corporate events and for other interested organisations.
Environmental Art: 'Finding the Dragon'
Environmental Art: 'In Memory of a Grandmother'
What a session might consist of...
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Meeting and working psychotherapeutically in nature to explore whatever has brought you to therapy.
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Using our surroundings, the landscape and natural objects found to stimulate and facilitate the therapeutic process.
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Using the stories, myths and folklore associated with different seasons and trees to guide our process.
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Making art from things found in nature as a way of expressing or exploring feelings, memories and dilemmas.
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Using techniques influenced by art psychotherapy, dramatherapy and psychodrama.
Environmental Art: 'The Masks I Where'
Environmental Art: 'Entering the Labyrinth'
As well as being a practitioner of Environmental Arts Therapy, I am also Director of The School of Environmental Arts Therapy (SEAT) - the only postgraduate training in EAT in the UK. For more information about SEAT and the training we offer, please click the SEAT logo.