Nature-Based Art Psychotherapy with Lauren

LOOKING FOR A THERAPIST?

Lauren de la Vega (MA, LCAT, ATR-BC) is a licensed creative art therapist and the co-founder of West Mountain Guide Co. Her nature-based art psychotherapy invites those that work with her to explore their inner landscapes through outdoor therapy sessions. Her clinical work combines her backgrounds in outdoor guiding and art therapy to fit your goals.

Lauren works with individuals, couples, and families (usually on a weekly basis) to provide psychotherapy that is relational and strengths-based, ensuring that our work is collaborative and that your goals are always prioritized.

what does an outdoor therapy session look like?

Just like any therapy session, it can look different for each person. Some people want to develop outdoor skills and crafts, a strength-based approach that help with self-esteem and connection. Others may want to move their physical body as a way to tap into their emotions. Some people prefer to be guided in mindfulness and other relaxation techniques outdoors — think ‘guided imagery’, but where you don’t need to imagine a serene outdoor space because you’ll be immersed in it! Each season of your life and of the earth will be different, allowing for flexibility in activities and approaches.

whY OUTDOOR THERAPY?

If you found your way to our websites, chances are you have an interest or curiosity in the outdoors. A simple openness to this type of therapy is an indication that it could be a good fit for you. Simply put, an outdoor space can be beneficial for therapy because it does not belong solely to the therapist or the client. There is an inherent power dynamic in therapy, and as a way to even the playing field, so to speak, meeting outdoors can be a place of mutual respect where both the therapist and the client have a shared relationship with and stewardship of the land.

In the U.S., we spend over 90% of our time indoors, and over 11 hours per day looking at screens (Mortali, 2019). Scheduling appointments with an intention to be present in nature can be beneficial to our mental and physical health, and can help us create new patterns of thinking and regulate our nervous system (Sudimac, 2022).

In a creative sense, nature also has a way of teaching us and providing metaphors that help us make sense of ourselves, our world, and our relationships. There are numerous ways to connect with nature through creativity and sensory exploration, in a way that is beneficial to ourselves the environment that we are a part of.

There are many ways to answer this question of “why outdoor therapy,” and it also elicits the question of “why not outdoor therapy?”

resources

“Therapists Trade the Couch for the Great Outdoors” – NYT Article

Braiding Sweetgrass  by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Rewilding: Meditaitons, Practices and Skills for Awakening in Nature by Micah Mortali

Stanford Study on time in Natural and Urban Environments

have a question or want to schedule a consultation?

email us at westmountainguideco@gmail.com

or email Lauren directly at Ldelavega.LCAT@gmail.com