The Nature Praxis: Ecotherapy Facilitation Essentials
About this Course
A practical, reflective and empowering intensive for people who want to facilitate therapeutic outdoor experiences. Build the skills to design and lead safe, responsive ecotherapy sessions while working with groups, uncertainty and nature itself.
Available dates
Contents
The Nature Praxis: Ecotherapy Facilitation Essentials is a seven-day residential intensive for people who want to create safe, meaningful and responsive therapeutic experiences outdoors. The course combines concise theory with practical exercises, personal reflection and group learning. Participants explore what ecotherapy is, why nature can support healing and development, and how an ecocentric perspective changes the role of the facilitator. The Ecological Self provides a foundation for understanding people as part of a wider living system rather than separate from it.
The learning journey follows the Medicine Wheel. East introduces orientation, context and foundations. South focuses on energy, action, craft and experiential-learning processes. West explores feeling, flow, adaptation and session design. North brings framing, safety, professional practice and preparation for a Solo Night. The Center supports integration, empathic communication, group management and the way forward.
Participants learn how to sequence experiences using the Ecology of Adventure and Kolb’s Learning Cycle. They work with practical frameworks such as the four faculties of the ego and the Flower Facilitation Model, and practise methods including Sitting Place, sensory awareness, Tree Finding, Fox Walk, reflective drawing, journaling, a Silent Night Walk and a Solo Night.
Safety and ethics are treated as essential facilitation skills. The program covers Challenging by Choice, trigger awareness, trauma-sensitive framing, outdoor risk management, boundaries and the limits of practice. It also develops empathic listening and an understanding of group-development phases, helping facilitators respond to both the needs of a group and the unpredictability of outdoor settings.
Daily movement or meditation, morning circles, practical sessions, Sitting Place work and evening circles create a rhythm of experience, reflection and application. The journey ends with integration, gratitude and a clear personal direction for applying the learning.
Structure
DAY 1
Arrival & Orientation
Meet in Chiang Mai; travel to Chiang Dao; get to know the location; opening circle at the bonfire.
DAY 2
East: Breath, Air & Orientation
Medicine Wheel, ecotherapy context and paradigms, why nature supports healing, Ecological Self and the foundation of Sitting Place.
DAY 3
South: Energy, Action & Craft
Ecological realism, experiential-learning techniques, sequencing, Challenging by Choice, Tree Finding and reflective drawing.
DAY 4
West: Feeling, Flow & Adaptation
Fox Walk, session design, four faculties of the ego, Flower Facilitation Model, trauma-sensitive safety and risk management, journaling and Silent Night Walk.
DAY 5
North: Framing & Professional Practice
Framing, asking at the Sitting Place, professional samples, preparation for and participation in the Solo Night.
DAY 6
Center: Integration & Group Process
Answering and reflection, empathic listening, group-development phases, Throwing Stick and evening open space.
DAY 7
Way Forward & Departure
Personal way forward in ecotherapy facilitation, expression of gratitude, lunch and departure.
Prerequisites
What's Included
Full ecotherapy facilitation and all learning activities
Workbook / learning journal and training materials
Use of group outdoor and safety equipment required for program activities
Mandatory online preparation meeting
Transport from/back to the meeting point in Chiang Mai to training location in Chiang Dao
Each day breakfast, lunch and dinner
YEP Academy accident insurance during program activities (coverage up to USD 5,000)
YEP Academy CPD certificate upon successful completion
Not Included
Travel to and from the official meeting point
Visa costs and personal travel / health insurance
Outdoor equipment: tents, sleeping bag, sleeping mat
Personal outdoor clothing and personal equipment listed in the packing list
Optional individual follow-up coaching
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The Nature Praxis: Ecotherapy Facilitation Essentials
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About the Organizer
YEP Academy
YEP is a catalyst to foster personal growth and sustainable living mindset.
We are here to increase your awareness of yourself, others, and nature.
We are using Nature as a Learning Field, referring to the concept of using the natural environment as a setting for education and learning.
YEP Academy is driven by a team of diverse individuals who have a passion for nature, outdoor activities, and empowerment.
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