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Start feeling more grounded—in just a few minutes a day.
Download the free 7-Day Nature Reconnection Guide and begin gently regulating your nervous system through simple, research-informed practices—no forest required.
We respect your space.
No spam. No noise. Just occasional, grounding emails with reflections, practices, and seasonal insights. Unsubscribe anytime—no hard feelings.
By Sol Reed
- May 14, 2025
I remember the first time I noticed my breath settle just from stepping into the bush. I was mid-panic, heart racing, thoughts tangled like overgrown blackberry vines. But as I walked beneath the tall gums, my nervous system did something I hadn’t expected: it exhaled. That was my introduction to what researchers and mental health professionals now call nature-based therapy.
It wasn’t a formal session. No therapist waiting on a log bench with a clipboard. Just the rustle of wind, a kookaburra’s cackle, and my body slowly remembering what it was to feel safe again. Since then, I’ve dug deeper—both into the soil of this practice, and the growing field of evidence supporting it.
Nature as a Co-Therapist
Across the world, including South Korea and through pilot programs like those studied at Korea University, we’re seeing a surge in research around nature-informed therapy, including Forest Therapy, green care, care farming, and horticultural therapy programs. These aren’t just poetic notions—they’re part of what some call an integrative therapy program: blending traditional psychological support with the therapeutic benefits of the natural world.
From gardening activities to hiking trails, and even virtual nature therapy, the findings are encouraging. In fact, a current study published in J. Environ reported improvements in psychological well-being, immune function, and heart rate regulation for participants with generalized anxiety disorder.
It’s Not Just “Nice”—It’s Necessary
Nature isn’t a luxury. For those living with anxiety disorders, depressive symptoms, and mental health conditions, it can be a lifeline. That includes people with a mental disorder diagnosis, where symptoms may not always respond to medication or conventional mental health care.
Engaging in nature-based activities—whether it’s a structured wilderness therapy retreat or unstructured spending time in green spaces—has shown positive outcomes for mental health and psychological well-being across a wide range of demographics.
Speaking of which, many clinical trials now consider demographic features like marital status, work life, and daily activities in their formal analysis. Why? Because understanding how people live their everyday lives helps to shape more effective therapy models that reflect real-world complexities.
Even in urban environments, where blue spaces like rivers and coastlines break up the concrete, a growing number of mental health services are integrating green therapy and horticulture therapy. And yes, virtual options are evolving too—virtual nature therapy is gaining traction for people without access to safe outdoor areas.
Why Nature Works
The effects of nature on mental health aren’t just anecdotal. They’re physiological. Time outside can regulate heart rate, support immune function, and reduce depression symptoms—even in cases of severe depression or treatment-resistant anxiety. The effectiveness of nature is increasingly backed by correlation analysis, multi-site trial designs, and secondary outcomes across studies from J. Environ and J. Psychiatr.
Nature encourages a connection to nature—but also to ourselves. For many, it fosters mental well-being and a renewed connection with nature in a way no waiting room ever could.
Charlie Health, an organisation working at the intersection of innovation and trauma-informed care, has begun weaving nature-based therapy into their digital and in-person services. Their multi-pronged approach, grounded in the work of the Health Organization and other global bodies, signals a shift toward holistic and integrative therapy programs that meet people where they are—sometimes, quite literally, under a tree.
Moving Forward, Mindfully
We need more future studies, more formal analysis, and better funding for community-based organisations championing this work. But the truth is, the land already knows how to hold us. It’s us who need to return.
So here’s the question I often ask in sessions now:
- When was the last time you let the land breathe for you?
- Sometimes the answer is a whisper.
- Sometimes it’s a walk.
- Always, it’s a beginning.
About the Author
Contributor | Ecological Storyteller & Seasonal Guide
Sol Reed is a queer writer, seasonal observer, and student of the more-than-human world. Raised between coastal dunes and eucalypt forest, Sol writes at the quiet intersection of grief, presence, and place—where reconnection is less a goal and more a remembering.
Their reflections draw from deep ecology, folk wisdom, and the subtle patterns of the Earth’s turning. With a background in arts education and storytelling, Sol invites readers into slower rhythms, deeper noticing, and the sacred ordinary of everyday nature.
Sol lives on Yuin Country in a handbuilt cabin near the sea, where they grow herbs, write by the tides, and believe that belonging is something we practise.