The Value of Nature During Psychotherapy: A Qualitative Study of Client Experiences.

Daphne Meuwese,Nienke Van Der Voort,Jolanda Maas,Lydia Krabbendam,Karin Dijkstra

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765177

Daphne Meuwese, Nienke Van Der Voort + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765177

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Abstract

Nature is considered to have restorative qualities that can potentially improve psychotherapy success. However, little is known about how clients experience nature during psychotherapy. The research aim of this phenomenological qualitative study was to study how clients experience nature during individual outpatient psychotherapy that took place while walking in nature. More specifically we were interested in clients’ inner world experiences. All participants (N = 12) received treatment through licensed therapists for a DSM-5 classified disorder. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. To uncover true lived experiences during these interviews, participants were asked to close their eyes and envision themselves during a psychotherapy session in nature. The verbatim transcripts were coded by means of inductive thematic analysis and the results were member checked. Results showed that nature brings clients closer to their inner worlds. How nature brings this about is unfolded in a conceptual model of lived experience. We argue that psychotherapy can be enriched by considering nature as a supportive environment because bringing clients closer to their inner worlds is of essential value in facilitating successful treatment interventions.

Highlights

“All social interaction is affected by the physical container in which it occurs” Bennett and Bennett, 1970
Like Revell and McCloud (2017), data was analyzed by means of an inductive thematic analysis following the procedural steps of Giorgi (2009): “four systematic stages were followed: (i) transcripts were read through to gain a sense of the overall experience; (ii) in-depth re-reading of the descriptions and further reflection identified themes that were pertinent to clients experiences of psychotherapy while walking in nature
A theme statement conveyed an aspect of meaning that relates to a specific, recurring aspect of the overall experience of psychotherapy while walking in nature; and (iii) emergent themes were integrated into an exhaustive “condensation” that reflected client

Summary

Introduction

“All social interaction is affected by the physical container in which it occurs” Bennett and Bennett, 1970. The research aim of the present paper is to study how clients experience nature during individual outpatient psychotherapy that takes place while walking in nature. Individual outpatient talk therapy is the most common way of providing evidence-based psychotherapy by licensed therapists in the western world (American Psychological Association, 2016). An equivalent for this treatment in a natural setting is: “talking therapy in natural outdoor spaces” (Cooley et al, 2020). Psychotherapy in the present study is described as a licensed therapist and a client having their psychotherapy session while walking together outside in natural outdoor spaces. These results, raise the question what clients themselves experience during psychotherapy while walking in nature, because even though therapists are trained to speculate about certain intrapsychic processes, the clinicians judgment has been found to insufficiently grasp a client’s perspective and experience (Garb, 1998; Miller et al, 2015)

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