Center For Nature Informed Therapy

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Center For Nature Informed Therapy The Center for Nature Informed Therapy integrates mental health practices with healing found in the natural world.

“I'm not an outdoors person” gives a therapist several things to ask about.Does the person dislike the activity they ima...
10/23/2026

“I'm not an outdoors person” gives a therapist several things to ask about.

Does the person dislike the activity they imagine? Have they felt unwelcome in outdoor spaces? Is privacy the concern? Would getting there be difficult?

In nature-informed therapy, the setting needs to fit the client's goals, preferences, and circumstances. A familiar park may be worth exploring. An indoor session may be the person's preference.

These four questions can help open that conversation. Permission to try an outdoor session also includes permission to stop or choose another setting.

Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan explores familiar places, belonging, and nature connection in her new CNIT article. Read it at the link below.
https://www.natureinformedtherapy.org/post/nature-connectedness-wellbeing-environmental-care

Just got this in the mail. Looked through all the workshops. Not a single workshop listed offers a nature informed lens....
10/23/2026

Just got this in the mail. Looked through all the workshops. Not a single workshop listed offers a nature informed lens. This year's theme is "Shaping the future of Psychotherapy". I respectfully disagree. The future of therapy must include nature as a partner in human well-being.

Thank you, Severn River Association, for the invitation to share about nature informed mental health and well-being. It ...
10/22/2026

Thank you, Severn River Association, for the invitation to share about nature informed mental health and well-being. It was a great event. Also, thank you for all you do to protect our waters!

A family barbecue may be remembered for the people, the food, and the conversations. The trees and shade may barely regi...
10/21/2026

A family barbecue may be remembered for the people, the food, and the conversations. The trees and shade may barely register, even though they were part of what made it possible to linger.
In her new article, CNIT founder Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan asks us to reconsider whom we imagine when we say “nature person.”
Try the prompts in this post with a familiar place of your own. If you visit again, notice one detail you usually pass by. You do not have to feel calmer or have a particular response.
If no comfortable outdoor memory comes to mind, you can begin with one detail visible from a place that feels comfortable now, including a window.
Read “A Therapist and an Environmentalist Walk Into a Bar...” in the link below.
https://www.natureinformedtherapy.org/post/nature-connectedness-wellbeing-environmental-care

🌿 Making Peace with the Past—with Nature’s HelpAn old story we still carry. A role that no longer fits. A goodbye we nev...
10/20/2026

🌿 Making Peace with the Past—with Nature’s Help

An old story we still carry. A role that no longer fits. A goodbye we never got to say.

These were some of the themes we explored in a recent workshop I facilitated for therapists on helping clients make peace with their past—with nature as a partner in the process.

Making peace with the past doesn’t require forgetting, forgiving, or finding a silver lining. It can begin with meeting our own story with greater compassion and making space for what comes next.

What does it cost someone to sit still and stay indoors all day?A participant in our recent Nature-Informed Therapy trai...
10/17/2026

What does it cost someone to sit still and stay indoors all day?

A participant in our recent Nature-Informed Therapy training shared this reflection about living with ADHD:

“Being able to intermittently spend time outdoors and do activities such as ‘sit spot’ made a radical difference in the emotional regulation symptoms I experience from ADHD.”

They described more than difficulty focusing: irritability, anger, frustration, and the emotional toll of trying to stay engaged.

“For me these types of adaptations can be the difference between total failure and burnout or successful engagement with the activity I am a part of.”

At CNIT, we build outdoor experiences into our trainings. This participant’s words remind us how much the way we structure a learning environment can matter. A walk, a sit spot, or permission to step outside may make participation more possible.

What might change if our schools and workplaces planned for these needs from the beginning?

“What did you notice, if anything?” leaves room for an honest answer.An outdoor activity may feel uncomfortable. It may ...
10/09/2026

“What did you notice, if anything?” leaves room for an honest answer.

An outdoor activity may feel uncomfortable. It may be enjoyable without changing distress. A person may prefer to keep talking indoors. Each response gives a clinician information about whether the activity fits.

These prompts are illustrative examples from CNIT’s article on nature-informed therapy and substance use recovery. They are not a validated treatment protocol.

Save them for a team discussion. The full article, including the research references, is available here: https://www.natureinformedtherapy.org/post/nature-informed-therapy-in-substance-use-recovery


A suggestion to spend time outside leaves a lot unanswered. Where would the person go? Can they get there? Would they en...
10/07/2026

A suggestion to spend time outside leaves a lot unanswered. Where would the person go? Can they get there? Would they enjoy being there?

CNIT’s new article looks at nature-informed therapy in substance use recovery, beginning with what someone might want to return to. It includes an everyday garden example, research findings, and the limits of what those findings tell us.

Nature-based activities belong alongside individualized treatment, including medication when indicated.

Read the article through the link below.
https://www.natureinformedtherapy.org/post/nature-informed-therapy-substance-recovery

What do Hood College and BriteLife Recovery have in common? A commitment to bringing nature into mental health care. 🌿Th...
10/05/2026

What do Hood College and BriteLife Recovery have in common? A commitment to bringing nature into mental health care. 🌿

This week, we at CNIT worked with our partner BriteLife Recovery on nature-informed supervision and taught a Nature-Informed Therapy intensive at Hood College.

We love having time to go deeper with people—to explore what this work looks like in practice, the questions it brings up, and our own relationship with nature.

Our hope is that participants leave with practical ideas, but also a deeper connection to the natural world that they can bring into their work with others.

Thank you to everyone at BriteLife and Hood who spent this time with us. It means a lot to see this work growing.

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