Nature-Based Therapy
What is nature-based therapy?
Nature-based therapy can mean a variety of things in the mental health community depending on the services offered and to whom. What is offered here is an opportunity to take your typical talk therapy session out of the office and into a nature space in the community. We dress for the weather then meet at the park and choose to walk and talk along the path, move our bodies on the playground, or find a quiet spot to sit together and observe our surroundings throughout our session.
Session Locations
Lake Harriet, Minneapolis
Melissa offers sessions at Lake Harriet where we have the option to walk around the lake or find a place to meet and sit outside together for our session.
Available Fridays
New Ulm
Mackenzie offers sessions at parks in New Ulm and the surrounding area, meeting at playgrounds or Flandrau State Park.
Available Wednesdays & Thursdays
Research has shown many psychological benefits to being outdoors including:
Increased sense of connection
Improved mood
Stress reduction
Improved focus, attention, and energy
Promotes cognitive development and self-control
Frequently Asked Questions
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Whenever possible we will dress appropriately for the weather and plan to meet outdoors as scheduled. If we determine that the weather is simply too much, we will shift to a virtual session and a link will be sent to you. This decision will be made jointly whenever possible and communicated to you at least 30 minutes prior to a scheduled session.
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Nope! Just come dressed as you would for spending an hour outside in the season we’re in.
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Session cost is the same as in office or telehealth. All session rates can be found here.
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When you elect into a nature-based session you are assuming some risk of confidentiality being compromised due to the public setting and this will be discussed with you in detail prior to the nature-based session.
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Prior to doing our first nature-based session an intake session is required either at the office or via telehealth. You can schedule your intake directly at the bottom of this page.