Through professional development in 2025, I achieved a new certification in the art of Forest Bathing Guidance and Forest Therapy.
What is Forest Bathing and Forest Therapy?
In the words of Amos Clifford, who first brought this art and science from Japan on the American continent…
“Forest bathing is not the same thing as hiking. The destination in forest bathing is “here”, not “there”. The pace is slow. The focus is on connection and relationships.”
Forest bathing guidance provides an immersive, mindful sensory experience in a forested terrain resulting in the strengthening of our innate interconnection with nature. Moreover, thanks to years of worldwide research on forest bathing and forest therapy, numerous physical and mental health benefits have been identified. These include attentiveness repair and improvement, a calmer nervous system, and lowering of blood pressure, to name a few. Given the relentless pace of our modern lives, the sensory-rich experience of forest bathing becomes a great antidote to the impact of our hurried life on our mental health and nervous system.
Forest therapy confers the same benefits as forest bathing with an added focus and specific activities that have a therapeutic effects to counter certain mental health issues and/or to facilitate certain psychological/emotional processes such as grieving, for example. In the past few years, in particular, international research has been abundantly identifying and confirming the various therapeutic benefits of forest bathing and therapy.
I plan to offer forest bathing guidance and forest therapy series in the late spring, summer and possibly early fall of 2026. Dates to be announced. Stay tuned.
Poetry Therapy
Poetry has the power to express a wide range of human emotions and to heal — to meet people where they are and move them toward growth, connection, and meaning. – from the website of the National Association for Poetry Therapy. NAPT.
As a member of NAPT, I now receive updates on their projects, including research on the various benefits of poetry for a wide diversity of people. In my view, one of the most important therapeutic aspects of poetry arise in the example of cultivating a spaciousness of mind to be inclusive of opposite emotions. This helps to foster a state of consciousness that is characterized by largeness, inclusiveness along with a poignant expression of humility and dignity. Further, I believe poetry can challenge us to embrace the highest form of what it means to be human, on a course of evolution, awareness and a spiritual path striving for transcendence of inner limitations, illusions and entrapments.
Some poetry will be occasionally integrated into forest therapy programs.