Janet Heath Counselling and Environment Therapy Nature as co-therapist A systematic introduction to Nature-guided therapy for counsellors and therapists A 3-day workshop at The Green Age Barns, Blore Heath Farm in association with the Counselling Psychology Short Course Programme of Keele University Three linked days: Saturday, 7 September, 2013 Saturday, 12 October, 2013 Saturday, 9 November, 2013 From 9.30-16.00 l wanted to say thank you for putting on these workshops. I have been really inspired by you both and, I feel that coming on the course has given me the push I needed, and the confidence too, to think outside the 'box' of the therapy room and to explore and develop ways of being with clients that bring in the therapeutic power of nature to heal. (Sally H. - Counsellor) Course details and booking form 1
Course aims A growing body of research attests to the healing power of a contact with nature, yet how do you facilitate nature-contact in the course of conventional therapy sessions, which often take place in a room? How can you harness the healing power of nature ethically, sensitively and effectively? More generally, how can you mobilise the self-healing potential of your client? This workshop, based on John Hegarty s and Janet Heath s research and development work over the past 6 years, will help you find an answer to these questions. We suggest that clients can be helped to access natural settings, at their own pace, and in non-threatening ways. Broadly, we argue that you can use Nature as a co-therapist. The workshop is open to experienced therapists / counsellors working in any relevant therapeutic tradition and setting who want to learn to harness the healing power of Nature as a co-therapist. A limited number of places are available at a discounted rate for counsellors or therapists in-training (see below). Indicative topics Personal development in counsellors / therapists Earth awareness. Nature-connectedness as an underlying therapeutic goal Research perspectives in nature-connectedness, ecotherapy, green care and care-farming. Therapeutic strategies for using nature in counselling and therapy. Linking nature-work to therapy models, especially person-centred therapy. Practical and ethical issues. Workshop structure The workshop is held over three days (from 9.30 4.00), so that participants can consider ideas and principles, incorporate them into their personal development and therapy work, and share experiences. Sessions are essentially practical, with a touch of theory and research thrown in. Some of the exercises will help you to bring nature into the therapy room and others will stimulate you to take clients outside into nature. On Days 2 and 3 it is hoped that participants will report back and discuss how far they have been able to implement ideas personally and therapeutically. The workshop leaders Janet Heath has a Diploma and an MSc in Counselling Psychology and is a person-centred counsellor, with interests in energy therapies including dowsing, who has researched nature as an important adjunct to conventional counselling and uses it regularly in her own work with cancer patients and in private practice. She farms with her husband David on a mixed farm in Cheshire and finds inspiration from daily walks in the woods and riversides where she lives. John Hegarty is a Chartered Psychologist with a special interest in using nature for psychological healing. He lives at Blore Heath Farm with his wife Rosie and their two sons families. John and Rosie have set up a charity Green Age (www.green-age.org.uk) to develop natureconnected services in health and social care. His recent research, published in the European Journal of Ecopsychology, documents everyday experiences of nature-connectedness. John has been a lecturer and researcher at the University of Keele for over 40 years. 2
About the venue Blore Heath Farm is host to Green Age, a not-for-profit social enterprise offering nature-based therapy. It has superb conference facilities in a newly-converted barn. Blore Heath Farm was built as a model farm in the late 1800 s and is on the site of the Battle of Blore Heath 1459.. The Green Age barns at Blore Heath the meeting rooms. The view from our training room..the Green Age oak. Blore Heath Farm enjoys a lovely setting on the Staffordshire / Shropshire/ Cheshire border, with distant views of the Welsh mountains. Set in 75 acres, it is a working farm with native-breed sheep and cattle. There are ten acres of woodlands and conservation areas available for walking, nature projects or just quiet meditation. The newly-converted Green Age Barn is a purpose-built conference and training venue for up to 50 people with full disability access, washroom and kitchen facilities that looks out on the Green Age Oak. Feedback from the Spring 2012 course The course has cemented my deeply held belief in the value of exercise and nature as a therapeutic tool or source for a client. I have also learnt a lot about issues of ethics, risk assessment and the authors of books on the healing qualities of nature. I have opened my imagination as a therapist and the course has given me new insights both to myself and how I could integrate nature into my work with clients. Thank you for an inspiring, sharing, innovative course. Loved the couple work, group input, food, friends etc, networking, books, ideas. Thank you both so much for the valuable work you are doing and for putting on this workshop. It has literally been a breath of fresh air compared with other trainng I have attended and it s been lovely to connect with other therapists who are interested in this way of working Just to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the course and being with nature as ecotherapy is something that I have been looking for in my life but until yesterday didn t realise it was that, that was missing, I feel like I have come home. What to bring with you 3
We will be going outside for a walk in some sessions, so please bring wellies or boots and wet weather gear. You may wish to bring a camera to have a visual record of sessions. If you have any other queries, please don t hesitate to contact us. Certificate of attendance Participants attending all three sessions will receive a Keele University Certificate of Attendance. However, please note that the course is not credit-bearing. (By the way, please be sure to put your name on the application form as you want it to appear on the attendance certificate.). BACP endorsement Nature as co-therapist is endorsed as 15 CPD hours by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and is listed on their website http://www.bacp.co.uk/cpd/cpd_details.php?id=129&event=365 Fee 195 for three days, including refreshments, lunches, and detailed course notes and resource list. Students enrolled on a counselling course may apply for a limited number of bursary places ( 95 for the three days). Please email John Hegarty (j.r.hegarty@gmail.com) with a short letter of application, giving your course details and the name of your course leader or other academic referee who may be contacted. Booking To book, please complete the order form (below) with a cheque for 195 / 95 [student discount] (payable to Blore Heath Care Farm Ltd. ) to: Dr John Hegarty, Blore Heath Farm, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2EG. Please note that places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have special access or dietary requirements (other than vegetarian, which we cater for by default) please indicate in a covering note with your order. Policies Green Age at Blore Heath is covered by public liability insurance, and complies with current health and safety legislation. Copies of policies, including our Complaints Policy, are available on request. For more information John Hegarty at j.r.hegarty@gmail.com Telephone 01630 653912, or Janet Heath at lowerkeygreen@hotmail.com Telephone 07801 415490 Cancellation Unavoidable circumstances may arise and you may cancel up to three weeks before the first session for a full refund of the fee (we will return your cheque). After that, until one week before the first session, we reserve the right to refund less a 10% cancellation fee. Later cancellations cannot be refunded, nor can we refund subsequent non-attendance at one of the course days. Workshop organisation The workshop is organised by us with the help of Green Age at Blore Heath, a not-for-profit social enterprise offering nature-based healing and support on care-farm models. For further information see the Green Age website at www.green-age.org.uk. The Counselling Psychology Professional CPD Programme at Keele University is organised by Dr Maggie Robson and colleagues (contact details on www.keele.ac.uk/psychology ). 4
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... Booking form: Nature as co-therapist. Please send with cheque or official order to: Nature Workshops, Blore Heath Farm, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2EG Please reserve place (s) at the 3-day workshop (Saturdays September 7, October 12, November 9, 2013); FIRST NAME SURNAME (PLEASE PUT FIRST NAME AND SURNAME AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR ON YOUR CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE) ADDRESS POSTCODE PHONE EMAIL DIET/ACCESS: Please indicate any special requirements overleaf, other than vegetarian, which we will cater for by default. EITHER I enclose a cheque payable to Blore Heath Care Farm Ltd for 195 OR I enclose a cheque payable to Blore Heath Care Farm Ltd for 95 (student discount please give name of course tutor and university) OR I enclose an official order - please invoice me. NB Please include name and address for invoice if different from above. Signed Date Booking conditions Course numbers are limited: please book as soon as possible. Bookings are accepted subject to availability and receipt of payment or order. The full course fee for each delegate (or official order) should accompany each order. Bookings will be acknowledged upon receipt (usually by email) and course joining details sent to named delegates. Cancellations with a full refund will be accepted up to 3 weeks before the course begins; refunds thereafter are as detailed in the course particulars (above). Substitutions of named delegates may be made but please advise of contact details. Course materials (which are copyright) will be available during the course. The organisers reserve the right to cancel courses that have not recruited to a minimum number by three weeks prior to the course date, whereupon named delegates will be notified and either an alternative course offered or a full refund made. 6