Ecopsychology: Reconnecting with Nature
Defining our Connection
Since my experience on Mt. Tabor, I have struggled to find, not only the right words to express my experience, but a path that acknowledged and integrated the healing benefits and innate connection between humanity and the natural world. As an undergraduate student in psychology, I began to investigate ways in which nature could be incorporated into a therapeutic practice. Nearly a year ago, while searching the web for graduate schools, I came across two educational programs that offered integrative approaches of “healing through nature”: Naropa University’s low-residency MA program in Transpersonal Psychology with an Ecopsychology concentration, and Project NatureConnect’s online program of Natural Attraction Ecology.
When I found Dr. John Davis, a lean man with short, unkempt, russet hair that complimented his light brown eyes and studious glasses, I was intrigued by his debonair appearance. As professor and director of Naropa University’s MA program in Boulder, Colorado and staff member of the School of Lost Borders, I imagined that his graying facial hair and button up dress shirt distinguished him from his students. On the Naropa University website, beneath his picture, was an impressive biography and email address that, ultimately, became an opportunity for me to contact him regarding ecopsychology.
Davis graciously accepted my request for an interview and, by email, responded with a brief introduction of his work in the field, “Before the term [ecopsychology] was used, I taught stress management programs. I recognized that I went to nature – backyard or wilderness – to manage my own stress. Also, wilderness experiences were powerful transformative experiences for me. When the term ecopsychology began to be used, it fit for me.” In the 1980’s, Davis was an activist in preventing nuclear war. After the Cold War ended, he recognized that environmental destruction was an enormous threat to human life and especially to children (Davis, 2009). “My work with environmental action also fit well with what I understood ecopsychology to be,” he added. After graduating with a BA in Psychology at Wake Forest University, Davis continued his education at Naropa University and, in 1977, obtained a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at the University of Colorado. Since then, he has been teaching, developing, and implementing various programs that promote and encourage healing through personal growth and our natural environment.
A successful introduction with John Davis inspired me to contact Dr. Michael Cohen, the creator, director, and teacher of Project NatureConnect’s Applied Ecopsychology on-line courses and degree programs. When I called Dr. Cohen one early Sunday morning, I did not expect an answer. After only two short rings, he surprised me with an energetic greeting and was more than eager to provide information about his program of Natural Attraction Ecology. Michael, as he preferred to be called, has an extensive background in natural ecology. Since 1959, Cohen has committed his life to living, learning and teaching in nature. While leading a group, in 1966, near the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, he had a transformational experience during a freak thunderstorm (Cohen, 2009). “The profound geological effects of that storm on the landscape convinced me that the Earth and I both acted homeostatically, and there was nothing that I did that it couldn’t do, except be literate. It therefore had to be alive, since I knew I was, and we were identical,” Cohen said about his experiences in nature that encouraged him on the path that he still walks today.
