NBT in Practice (Squamish, BC)

NEW DATES ANNOUNCED!

 Cheakamus Centre, Squamish, BC  July 1-4, 2025 

Join us for a deeper, experiential immersion into the possibilities that Nature-based therapy can hold for yourself and your clients. Alongside the Cheakamus river, towering cedars, bald eagles, yellow-rumped warblers, and coho salmon who call this beautiful ecological preserve home, 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. 

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.  If you are already working in the outdoors with clients, or planning to make the switch out of 4 walls, this course is for you.  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 NBT 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
• Approaches to decolonizing NBT practice
• 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: Cheakamus Centre, Squamish, BC 

Dates: July 1-4, 2025 

Times: Day 1: 5-9pm; Day 2: 9am-5pm; Day 3: 9am-5pm; Day 4: 9am-5pm

Fees: $950, $850 for early bird registration up to February 1st , 2025

Student Rate: $800

Bursaries: We have a set number of bursaries available upon request for Indigenous and racialized participants, students, and for other equity deserving groups. They are available on a first come, first served basis.   Please complete this short form to request a bursary:  

Accommodation: Not available for this training.  Camping and other accommodation nearby. http://www.paradisevalleycampground.net/, https://www.mtnfunbasecamp.com/, http://www.squamishhostel.com/, https://www.sunwolf.net/ 

Meals: Dinner on the first evening, 3 lunches, and snacks/tea/coffee are included

* This course will be held at Cheakamus Centre in Squamish, BC. The Centre is located on the traditional territories of the Chi’yakmesh people of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation in the heart of the newly designated Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region.  Cheakamus  is located on 165 ha of ecological preserve and together with conservation partners strives to protect the diverse natural communities that benefit a variety of wildlife such as the spawning salmon. We are grateful to be able to invite you to learn about and practice Nature-Based Therapy with this beautiful land.

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

Next Intro to NBT Course: Feb/Mar 2025. 

Click here to register for our Intro Workshop!

Past participants said…

“This course was transformational and the best training experience I’ve ever attended. I had been practicing nature-based therapy already, but this training showed me just how rich this work can be. The facilitators are not just highly knowledgeable, experienced, and embody this way of working with clients, but they are each such humble and supportive individuals, sharing with generosity, sensitivity, and joy. I’ve walked away with a deeper appreciation of this work, confidence in implementing with clients wherever they are at, and a whole community of support.” participant, spring 2024

“I have been working in the field of mental health since 1990. This was, without doubt, one of the best trainings I have ever done. The trainers were knowledgeable and generous, the location deeply enriched the learning, and there was enough theory to be useful without distracting from the very experiential intention of Nature-Based Therapy. I left with a very clear sense of starting to remember things my ancestors knew about our part in the natural world, how healing happens through connecting and experiencing, and how getting out of traditional therapeutic spaces can be such an important aspect of decolonizing our practices. Highly recommended to experienced practitioners and newcomers alike.” participant, spring 2024

“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

Cancellation & Payment Policy:

Your workshop spot is reserved just for you. A late cancellation or unattended session leaves a hole in the course that could have been filled by another participant. 

Payment is due in full upon registration. If you require a payment plan, please reach out to Emlyn at [email protected]. 

Cancellations made 30 days prior to the start of the first session will be charged a $75 administration fee.

For cancellations made between 30 days and up to 14 days before the start of the first session, 50% will be refunded.

Cancellations made later than 14 days before the start of the session will not be refunded due to firm costs associated with site and meals. 

In cases of cancellation less than 14 days before the course due to illness, you will receive a credit towards a future course minus $150 (unrecoverable program costs)

To cancel, please email [email protected]