NBT in Practice (Golden, BC)

Join us for a deeper, experiential immersion into the possibilities that Nature-based therapy can hold for yourself and your clients. Supported by the serenity setting and vision of Quantum Leaps Lodge, which is to “Provide a Safe Sanctuary for Inner and Outer Explorations,” we will play, practice, and grow our capacity to hold and transform emotional pain within this container of connection to self, community, and Earth.  Be prepared to build community with like-minded practitioners, engage in self-reflection, practice interventions, role-play, and explore your own personal relationship to the non-human Natural World. We hope you can join us in this incredible retreat, where we will stay on site in chosen accommodation and be nourished with organic lunches and dinners from the retreat gardens.  

This course is designed to build on the theory and core skills learned from the Introductory course and translate the online learning into embodied practices.  The goal of this training is for participants to leave feeling confident in their ability to draw from a breadth of tools and lived experience when turning to nature as co-therapist.  This course is for you if you are either already working in the outdoors with clients, or planning to make the switch out of 4 walls.  Participants will learn and practice interventions they can apply right away with clients.

Foundational Theory that will be applied and practiced includes: 

• Introductions and setting up safe space
• The therapist’s baskets – drawing from your skill set
• Practitioner’s relationship with nature & embodiment
• Client assessment and Ecological identity
• Sensory awareness & regulation
• Nature as co-facilitator
• Working with mirroring and metaphor
• Experiential learning and growth
• Moving through stages of NBT practice (regulation, re-structuring, consolidation)
• Guiding models for session flow and process
• Weaving in psycho-education with nature connection 
• Solos and sit spots
• Integration and closing

Bring your full authentic self as we come together to explore the beauty and potential of Nature-based Therapy.  We hope you can join us!

Location: Quantum Leaps Lodge and Retreats in Golden, BC

Dates: July 24 (starting at 7pm) – 28 (ending at 2pm), 2024

Fees:  $1068 + accommodation; Student price = $918 + accommodation

Meals: 4 Lunches and 3 Dinners included in fees

Accommodation: $232-464, depending on the room chosen. Click here to view accommodation spaces.

• Please note – the accommodation costs listed below are special rates for our workshop and differ from the listed prices on the Quantum Leaps site.
  • Private Room – $100/night x 4 nights = $400 x 16% tax = $464/person
  • Shared Room – $80/night x 4 nights = $320 x 16% tax = $371.20/person
  • Teepee – $50/night x 4 nights – $200 x 16% tax = $232.00/person
  • River Room/Crystal House –  $80/night x 4 nights = $320 x 16% tax = $371.20/person
• No camping available. 
• An accommodation form will be sent to participants upon registration.

 ** Subsidies available for Indigenous, and BIPOC participants, and others living with systemic barriers. Please contact us to inquire about how we can support you in accessing this course. Email [email protected]

* This course will be held at Quantum Leaps Lodge and Retreats in Golden, BC.  This land is the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people, which they share with the Secwepemc people and which is home to the Metis Nation Columbia River Society.  The vision of the caretakers of this land is to “Provide a Safe Sanctuary for Inner and Outer Explorations”.  They honor all living beings as sacred beings from the vegetables growing in the garden, to the salmon in the river, to the white-tailed deer and hummingbirds. We are grateful to be able to invite you to learn about and practice Nature-Based Therapy with this beautiful land.

Please note: This course is a requirement for the Level 1 Certification Program and will not be offered again until Summer 2025.

** Prerequisite: completion of our online Introduction to Nature-based Therapy Course (click to learn more)

Next Intro to NBT Course: Feb/Mar 2024. 

Click here to register for our Intro Workshop!

Past participants said…

“If you are interested in opening up space for nature as your co-therapist in your practice I cannot recommend this training enough. As someone who already works with nature as a co-therapist in my practice, this training offered me increased confidence, inspiration, and intentionality in my work. It provided me with intentional language to use, useful interventions, and a group of others engaged in this incredible work. I am so grateful for this experience and cannot wait for future consult groups or additional trainings! THANK YOU!” participant, summer 2023

“A must do training for professionals. A great combination of experiential, modeling co-regulation, and integration of the grounded world around us.” participant, summer 2023 

“I was especially grateful for the therapeutic dyads, which were quite powerful, and helped me learn or intuit quite a bit in the moment about what NBT therapy can look like. In general, I welcomed the in-person format, the great wealth of experiential activities, and the balanced outdoor setting (quiet, contained wild nature plus facilities) of this course, especially following the more theoretical intro / online course. I also appreciated the explicit naming and framing of the course as educational, not therapeutic; a format which gently acknowledges all the tender feelings that come up for participants but does not take the role of processing them in group. The games were wonderful, and I loved witnessing how powerful these simple experientials are for adults new to NBT play.”  participant, spring 2023

“Human Nature Counselling is run by an experienced, genuine, and knowledgeable team who uses nature therapy to help support children, youth, adults and families.”  participant, spring 2023

“This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to deepen one’s capacity to build nature connection ethically into their practice, regardless of one’s level of past experience. Katy, Dave, and supporting staff blend intellectual and embodied engagement through a variety of activities fostering exploration, growth, and reflection on individual and group levels.”  participant, spring 2022