Published: March 2023

Keywords:
Chiara Santin, Ecotherapy, Ecosystemic practice, Rewilding psychotherapy, Nature therapy.

Chiara Santin

I am a White woman, in her fifties, heterosexual, Italian, and I love all colours and nature. I am a systemic family psychotherapist, systemic supervisor and trainer, visiting lecturer and tutor on systemic courses for 12 years. I have been working with children and families for more than 20 years in Social Care and since 2012 as an independent therapist with adoptive families. I am passionate about social justice, ethical practice, creativity and self-reflexivity. In the past 3 years I have been developing community projects and ecosystemic nature-based therapy in Sussex, UK. I have presented at various national and international conferences and published several papers on systemic journals.

Contact me at rainbow.communityprojects@gmail.com

and visit www.familytherapyservicesrainbow.org

and www.rainbowcommunityprojects

Abstract

Nature is not a commodity or a resource to be used and abused. Natural disasters can be seen as manifestations of how humanity, particularly non-indigenous cultures, have put themselves and their needs before everything else, damaging the environment and now realizing that we are actually engaging in self-harming as nature is us and we are nature. Systemic thinking and Family therapy have a role to play in trying to help people reconnect with nature and each other through rewilding our psychotherapy practices. Rewilding is a way to help nature regain its own ability to restore and regenerate and create new, almost lost habitats.

Rewilding systemic practice is about recognizing the power of nature, that we are simply guests and custodians, with a socio-political responsibility as activists-therapists to challenge the traditional way of delivering therapy, to adopt an ecological perspective, to offer ethical and innovative practices to meet the increasing need for mental health support and community building.