Study Ecotherapy
Nature-informed learning
Pay as You Go. NOW A GENUINE 50% off SPECIAL extended for spring (until November 30 2026)
Kickstart
your Career
Grow your career working in/with Nature
Self Employment Opportunities
Create your occupational niche within the continual revolutions in job markets and create self-employment opportunities in Ecotherapy
Become an Ecological
Imaginary
Understand the societal contexts of Nature and Healing, and become an ecological imaginary
Evidence & Experience
informed
Develop your confidence in foundation of evidence-informed frameworks in Ecotherapy
Meet the Team
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Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis
FOUNDER
Kerryn is an author and teacher working in Environmental Education. She has completed a Master’s of Social Ecology at UWS in 2002. She has also completed a Diploma in Transpersonal Art Therapy. She is a sessional lecturer and content developer at Nan Tien Buddhist Institute in Wollongong NSW since 2019 in the Mental Health and Social Wellbeing programs. She delights in connecting and supporting those who wish to work more closely with nature. She has independently published a collection of poetry in 2022 (in parentheses) Her latest publication OK Doomer is a creative and contemplative resource to support those working with climate overwhelm and ecological sorrow.
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Kelly Jarvis
Residential Facilitator Aotearoa/NZ
Kelly Jarvis is a Co-facilitator on residentials in Aotearoa /New Zealand.
Kelly has been working in the family Violence and Health & Wellbeing sector for the last 15 years. Over this time, she has developed a Nature Based Therapy Practice; Puāwai. Puāwai is an intuitive and creative approach to therapy that is grounded in the concept of hononga; exploring the intrinsic relationships between people, Wairua, and Te Taiao; the magic and interconnectedness of everything around us in the natural world, and beyond. Kelly facilitates healing through the weaving of nature, Rongoa Māori, creativity, and storytelling.
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Karen Gray
Module Tutor
Karen shares her passion for plants and people in creative engagement with over 30 years experience in Botanic Gardens, community gardens, private gardens and as a horticultural therapist in mental health, aged care and the disability sector. She feels strongly that gardens and access to nature is available for all in health care having witnessed beautiful transformations for participants. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Management & Tourism, Certificates in Disability Support, Horticulture, Bush Regeneration Supervision, Techniques for Horticultural Therapy and is co-author of Nature Heals An Introduction to Nature-based therapy in Australia and New
Ecotherapy Graduates talk meeting the world with the work of Ecotherapy
It has been two and a half years since I completed both Ecotherapy courses, and I could not be more happy with the way it was taught and the support I received from Kerryn in winding my way through the modules. Last year I set a goal of running 4 workshops and I ended up running seven…
My first ecotherapy workshop booked out within a fortnight and I was asked to run more. I am still learning a lot but have just facilitated a one day workshop for Valentines Day called For the Love of Trees. It was such a wonderful way of celebrating trees in our lives and breaking through some internal barriers we have in acknowledging how much we love trees in a society that publicly mocks tree huggers. I am forever grateful for the time I spent studying with Kerryn, encouraging us to open our minds and our hearts to the world around us and the kin that have always loved us.
Sitara Gare Qld
TREE OF LIFE sheisseenmovement.com
As I have deepened into this first module, I have found myself feeling like this course, the books I’m reading from the recommended reading list and the rabbit holes I’ve found myself researching online have me feeling very aligned with this path, and perhaps even why I’ve been doing the things I do. The way this study has me connecting the dots from where I’ve been to where I am going is feeling like a therapeutic weave itself - one I knew I needed but previously had no idea where to look for and can make all the difference.”
Ecotherapy Student and Earthart Activist Libby Tozer
She is Seen Movement
Q. How do I know if these courses are right for me?
A. IF you have considered other courses but recognized the limitations of studying within systems and institutions that desperately need to transform. AND you'd rather explore the kind of learning adventure that makes sense in a world that does not recognise we are part of nature, AND have the courage to live your way into some answers to some of your questions:
HERE are vocationally focused courses that provide you with legal and ethical boundaries to practise ( See Scope of Practice statement below) focus on your relationship AS nature and hone ecological perception and listening, letting nature have a voice and guide you in this transformation that is integral. THEN WHY NOT begin Module 1 and see how it aligns with the truth in your soul. ?? Both Ecotherapy courses are a genuine ½ price, extended until November 2026 for spring.
This genuine offer is in part a response to the shock of AI and the way it is colonising our learning, our creativity and our authenticity, further disconnecting us from embodied learning and nature. Part response to the cost of living, which is real and ongoing. And partly moving toward the gift economy.
Q. What do these courses prepare me to practise?
A. Here is the Scope of Practice approved by IICT, which provides your professional indemnity and public liability cover;
● Groups that also include nature-reconnection practices such as outdoor activities, ie. Walking, earth art/ephemeral art, sit spots, sense of place, tuning into nature, deep listening, rituals, retreats, spending time with animals and plants, journaling, myth and story
● Green mindfulness and gardening activities within a community garden or similar place, and grounding practice and sensory experiences in nature
● Eco-art and creative expression outside
● Facilitating group-based activities and practices outside to foster a sense of connection to ecological self and each other
● Working with eco anxiety and eco-grief regarding environmental issues
● Community information sessions and events to increase awareness and encourage commitment to environmental causes
Scope of Practice is what you are educated, competent and authorised to perform as a complementary therapy professional. It includes the roles, responsibilities, functions, activities, and decision-making capacity of a practitioner. In some cases, the Scope of Practice is set by professional standards and legislation.
Certificate of Ecotherapy Groupwork
Module cost each: NOW $150
Payments can be spaced out over the course per Module (up to 6 months per module allowed). Better than a payment plan!
NO PREREQUISITES NEEDED Aprox 40 hours per module
Best for those who:
working in community/human services and want a shorter course in Ecotherapy
AND/OR would like to experience the healing opportunities of connecting more with their Ecological/Eco-selves
Enrollment + 4 Modules
WAS $1500NOW $750 AUD total
Advanced Certificate of Ecotherapy Groupwork
750 hours
4 extra modules building on the first 4from the Certificate
+70-hour community placement 2 years (including Certificate in Ecotherapy) to complete
For those who wish to prepare fully to work as a Group facilitator of Ecotherapy, STILL NO PREREQUISITES NEEDED
Complete your community placement anywhere in the world
Includes an optional opportunity to attend a face-to-face residential in either Australia or Aotearoa/NZ
4 extra Modules
WAS AUD$1500 NOW $750TOTAL FOR BOTH COURSES NOW $1500
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When we dare to face the cruel social and ecological realities we have been accustomed to, courage is born and powers within us are liberated to reimagine and even, perhaps one day, rebuild a world.
Joanna Macy, Entering the Bardo
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Ecotherapy is Emerging!
There are so many ways to apply Ecotherapy that are emerging, including;
Ecotourism/transformational and regenerative travel
Re-Wilding playgroups/kids nature groups/forest school
Women’s/Men's healing groups
Mental health support
Mindfulness in Nature
Photo credit and Earthart — Kelly Jarvis
SO much is unique about these bespoke, in-depth, online studies in Ecotherapy!
Payments per module as you go ( better than a payment plan!)
Contemplative and reflective spaces that allow Nature to inform your learning
Inspired by global Indigenous connections with Nature
Has a local AND global focus, and can be completed from anywhere worldwide.
Does not require any prerequisites
Practitioner-developed to ensure a vocational focus
A creative core, informed by eco-art therapy and ecopoetics
Assignments can be completed in diverse ways, including voice recordings, poetry, song, dance, art/earthart, prose, photography etc.
Recognition of prior learning is considered
A WhatsApp student group to share assignments, decolonising learning
The lineage of Ecopsychology is explored according to Andy Fisher ( Radical Ecopsychology Psychology in the service of life ), originating from:
Deep Ecology/Eco-feminism/Transpersonal Psychology
.An Ecotherapy Code of Ethics & Childsafe Compliance Policy
As a collective learning communitas, we have produced a Eartheart Ecotherapy Ethos as a Code of Ethics. We have also formulated a Childsafe compliance Policy in accordance with National Standards in Australia and internationally.
Professional insurance for Ecotherapy
Student membership with the International Institute of Complimentary Therapies recognize the Modality of Ecotherapy, and grant you access to both Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurances.
Readings
The reading list includes books, podcasts etc. from current practitioners, researchers, and Indigenous wisdom keepers such as Joanna Macy Uncle Bob Randall, Tyson Yunkaporta, Theodore Roszak, Linda Buzzell, Craig Chalquist, Ken Wilbur, Terry Patten, Andy Fisher, Vandana Shiva, Val Plumwood, John Seed, Glenn Albrecht, David Abram, Bill Plotkin, David Key and others, shaping the emergence of Ecotherapy.
Why groupwork
“I am because you are”
We are all connected in the web of life, though we may not feel it. The energy of groups wakes you up to this truth. Groupwork works actively with what Thich Nhat Hanh calls INTERBEING - the oneness of all life. Working in groups reduces individualism and the conditions for human exceptionalism to infiltrate our consciousness.
Thomas Hubl, author of Attuned Practising Interdependence to heal our trauma and our World, a and expert on Collective Trauma & Healing says our superpower is our ability to connect with others is the magic of connection that we can harness intentionally in groupwork, which has powerful healing potentials.
Why online?
Accessibility - study from anywhere
Cheaper - more doable for more people
Reduce travel miles and carbon footprint
Complete coursework and assignments in and be informed by Nature
