Ecopsychology
Carl Jung believed psychology to be a study of human consciousness – mind and soul. He believed in order to deepen the human psyche, there needed to be a relationship with the natural world. He felt that a person needed to be connected to nature to avoid some level of neurosis. According to Jung, the energy of the earth is always there for us. Like any relationship, there has to be balance; it has to be reciprocal.
Theodore Roszak popularized the term “ecopsychology”. He is a modern day leader in creating the field of ecopsychology. Ecology is a study of the interrelationships between the natural environment and all living beings. Ecocounseling draws on ecology and psychology to create a healing relationship between humans and nature. A basic part of ecopsychology practice is taking the therapy sessions out of the traditional office building and into the park, arboretum or similar natural setting.
“In the beginning, the field of psychology focused on internal psychological processes of an individual – the ego, the id and the superego. Over time, it expanded to include relationships and interactions between people, eventually encompassing family dynamics and social issues. By the 1970s, the field developed to include cultural experiences and social identity – gender, race and class.”
Today, ecopsychology takes the field even further, by looking at the entire ecological systems, the planet and humans as a single organism.
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” ~ John Muir