Nature-Based Trauma Therapy: Healing with Grounding, Forest Bathing, and Ecotherapy

By: Callie Hildreth LCSW-C, LCSW

EMDRIA Certified 

In a world where trauma and chronic stress are increasingly common, many people are turning to nature for healing. Science is beginning to validate what ancient traditions and indigenous wisdom have long known: the natural world has a profound ability to restore our minds, bodies, and spirits. Nature-based trauma therapy - through techniques like grounding, forest bathing, and ecotherapy - offers a powerful, accessible pathway toward healing.

What Is Nature-Based Trauma Therapy?

Nature-based trauma therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the healing elements of the natural world to support individuals dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. It integrates evidence-based psychological practices with intentional interaction with nature, helping to soothe the nervous system, reduce hypervigilance, and reconnect individuals to their bodies and surroundings.

Let’s explore three core practices often used in this approach:

1. Grounding: Reconnecting with the Earth

Grounding (or “earthing”) involves direct contact with the Earth’s surface—such as walking barefoot on grass, sitting under a tree, or lying on sand. This simple act has been shown to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), stabilize heart rhythms, and promote calmness.

For trauma survivors, grounding can serve as a sensory anchor to the present moment, helping to interrupt flashbacks, dissociation, and overwhelming emotional states. It can foster a feeling of safety, belonging, and embodiment.

Try this grounding practice:
Find a quiet outdoor space. Take off your shoes and stand or sit with your feet touching the ground. Breathe slowly. Notice the texture of the soil or grass, the air on your skin, and the sounds around you. Let your body settle into the support of the Earth beneath you.

2. Forest Bathing: The Medicine of Trees

Originating in Japan as Shinrin-yoku, forest bathing means immersing yourself in a forest environment simply to be present among trees. The practice encourages mindful observation and sensory engagement.

Studies have shown that forest bathing can:

• Lower blood pressure and heart rate
• Decrease anxiety and depression
• Improve mood and cognitive function
• Boost the immune system (thanks to phytoncides—natural compounds released by trees)

For trauma healing, forest bathing provides a gentle way to restore a sense of wonder, trust, and connection. Nature’s rhythms and nonjudgmental presence can mirror the process of emotional regulation and reattunement.

How to forest bathe:
Find a wooded area. Turn off your phone. Walk slowly, pause often, and let your senses guide you. Notice the scent of pine, the dappled light, the texture of bark. Sit against a tree, listen to birdsong, or simply observe the wind moving through leaves.

3. Ecotherapy: Healing Through Nature Connection

Ecotherapy is an umbrella term for a range of practices that intentionally integrate nature into therapeutic work. This can include:

• Nature-based counseling sessions
• Wilderness therapy
• Therapeutic gardening
• Animal-assisted therapy

Ecotherapy acknowledges the interdependence between humans and the Earth. For those healing from trauma, this approach helps reduce feelings of isolation, rebuilds trust, and cultivates meaning and purpose beyond the trauma story.

Some ecotherapists guide clients in rituals, nature journaling or symbolic work with natural materials. Others facilitate therapeutic walks or group sessions outdoors. The key is fostering a relational bond with the self, others, and the natural world.

Why Nature Heals

Trauma disconnects. It fragments memory, body awareness, and the sense of safety. Nature, in contrast, invites connection. It restores coherence through sensory input, cyclical patterns, and grounded presence. In nature, we are reminded that life continues, that beauty exists alongside pain, and that we are part of something larger.

Importantly, nature doesn’t demand words. For many trauma survivors, verbal expression can be difficult. The quiet companionship of trees, rivers, or sky can offer a nonverbal sanctuary for grief, integration, and eventual renewal.

Things to Try

You don’t need a wilderness retreat or therapist to begin. Try integrating small practices:

• Take daily walks without headphones;
• Create a nature altar in your home;
• Watch the sunrise or sunset;
• Sit with a tree you visit regularly.

Final Thoughts

Nature-based trauma therapy is a wonderful complementary approach with psychotherapy. Whether you're walking barefoot, sitting under a tree, or letting the forest hold your sorrow, nature offers a steady, compassionate presence. In a world that often feels disconnected, nature invites us to return to our senses, to our breath, and to a life rooted in wholeness.