Professional Ecotherapy
Certificate Immersion Program – Level 2
Professional Ecotherapy Certificate Immersion Program – Level 2
Translate your love of nature into your life and work!
Join us for this nourishing and transformational training!
Are you ready to take the next step in your personal and professional journey with Ecotherapy?
Would you like to immerse in nature for a deep dive into Earth-based healing practices?
Ecotherapy Certificate Immersion Program
Retreat in a stunning, natural setting with majestic trees and flowing creeks.
Experience a rich mix of nature-based healing practices you can use with individuals and groups, indoors or outdoors.
Replenish body and spirit with the peace of nature, healthy and delicious meals, and the support of an Earth-honoring community.
Take home a treasure trove of Earth-based practices and the knowledge and confidence you need to use them skillfully.
West Coast
June 1-6, 2025
Ben Lomond Quaker Center | Ben Lomond, CA
Taught by Ariana Candell & Kai Siedenburg
Now is the time to include nature-honoring principles in our healing work!
When we give ourselves time to immerse in nature—walking among trees, gazing at expansive vistas, listening to birdsong—we feed our hearts and spirits. We touch into ancient wisdom within us and around us from the land, creatures and elements. We restore our bodies and minds and receive a well of inspiration to share with our clients and those around us.
When we immerse in nature as part of an Earth-loving community with a shared intention, it’s especially bonding and transformational. Exploring nature connection practices together can lead to profound shifts in how we experience nature and give us powerful tools and motivation to carry this back into our personal and professional lives.
~ Ariana Candell, LMFT, R-DMT, Ecotherapist and Ryan Van Lenning, Ecotherapist & Wilderness Rite-of-Passage Guide
Learn powerful, nature-based healing practices
to enrich your therapeutic and leadership work
This training offers a unique and transformative blend of nature immersion, personal retreat, and professional development. In a safe and supportive community, you will integrate and deepen what you’ve learned in previous programs, strengthen your personal connection with nature, and hone your ability to lead Ecotherapy practices.
You will spend most of your time outdoors, experiencing a rich mix of practices and learning how to guide them skillfully—including work with nature allies, somatic and expressive arts, Authentic Movement in nature, sacred ceremony, eco-activism, and Joanna Macy’s “The Work that Reconnects.”
This training will help you:
- Reconnect with passion and purpose and clarify your path
- Keep yourself and your clients grounded and resourced
- Guide outdoor individual Ecotherapy sessions safely and skillfully
- Lead engaging and effective group nature connection experiences
- Help transform pain over the state of the world into positive action
Personal benefits of the training:
- Restore and recharge by immersing in a peaceful, natural setting
- Deepen your personal relationship with nature
- Develop a consistent nature connection practice to nourish and sustain you
- Experience the support of a dynamic, Earth-honoring community—during the training and beyond
25 CEU’s available
Learning outcomes of the training.
This program is designed for:
Licensed clinicians, interns and counseling students, wellness practitioners, coaches, ministers, teachers, healers, and more.
25 CE’s available for $85 administrative cost.
Teachings are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public.
Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients.
Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include the activities of circle singing, extended nature connection time, meals, etc.
We welcome all humans of any gender identity, culture, race, religion, sexual orientation and economic circumstance.
What participants say:
“Deciding to enroll in the Level 2 Ecotherapy Immersion was one of the best decisions of my life! This experience has transformed my life, and has brought me home to myself. I’m highly grateful, and highly recommend this powerful program with The Earthbody Institute.”
~ Joy Long, LCMHC
“Magical, life-changing, professionally deepening, relationship building, and personally expansive. It opened up my brain, heart, and soul to the powerful healing gifts of our beautiful Mother Earth.”
~ Beth Prewitt, PsyD, MS, LPCC
“This training allowed me to gain felt-sense of trust in Earth that I can lean into her and know that I don’t have to effort or try so hard to move into this work more fully. It allowed for trust in emergence, flow, and organic development of in the moment client offerings and practices. It was also deeply moving and meaningful for me to develop community with the dear fellow therapists in my cohort and feel free to express my child-like self in safety.”
~ Kara L., LMFT
Experience the power of sharing visions, hopes and support
with an Earth-honoring community!
Our training perspective offers a unique blend of deep nature connection, mindfulness, somatic therapy, expressive arts and social activism. Our practical and theoretical roots are in Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Dance Movement Therapy and Joanna Macy’s “Work that Reconnects.”
Our training approach is highly experiential and integrates presentation, demonstration, practice, reflection and journaling, consultation and peer feedback, as well as personal time for nature connection, networking and rejuvenation.
Ecotherapy Certificate
You will receive an Ecotherapy Certificate for completion of this training program.
Please note this program only has space for 12 participants.
What participants say:
“Ariana’s trainings have been monumental to my evolution as an ecotherapy educator, facilitator, and practitioner. They helped me go beyond my comfort zone to explore powerful new ways of connecting with and learning from the natural world. I have since incorporated these new understandings into my existing course “The Science & Experience of Ecotherapy” at William & Mary, and it has taken the course to another level. I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from such an inspirational and accomplished leader in the field!”
~ Dorothy C. Ibes, PhD Senior Lecturer, Environmental Science & Policy and Center for Geospatial Analysis
~ Sarita Jessica Benn-Towle, AMFT
INVESTMENT
Regular Training
Hold your place: $397 (non-refundable deposit)
Training- Pay it forward: $1197
Training –Keep the lights on: $997
Training – Equity and Support: $797
Retreat: $700 – This includes shared room housing, meals, and all facility use
Total Cost – Pay it forward: $1897
Total Cost – Keep the lights on : $1697
Total Cost –Equity and Support: $1497
25 CE’s available for an additional $85
REFUND POLICY
Northern California Training: Due to the possibility of fires in Northern CA, there is a chance that the training may be cancelled due to unsafe levels of smoke in the air. If that occurs, you will have the option of either having your full payment (including the deposit) credited toward a future EBI program or receiving a full refund. If there are any fires or smoke impacting the area in the weeks before the training, we will monitor the situation closely and keep you informed.
Join us for a transformational journey to connect with the wisdom of the land.
What participants say:
“Not only was this an incredibly helpful training, it was a rejuvenating retreat with a powerful group that grew safer and closer through the week, led by two facilitators that held space with grace, flexibility, safety, and deep knowledge–always. As a seasoned clinician, I am rarely surprised with new learning–and I was, repeatedly!”
~ Kiran C. Easwarachandran, LCSW, R-DMTC
“Ariana’s Immersion course was one of the most precious experiences of my life. It awakened my deep love …and joyful inner relationship with Nature. It strengthened my commitment to advocate for the Earth and healed much of my pain, guilt and shame for the harm being done. It inspired me to keep feeling and make choices to protect and heal the Earth.”
~ D. C., LMFT
The Program Instructors
Ariana Candell, LMFT, R-DMT, Ecotherapist, is a licensed psychotherapist with 30 years experience and a pioneer in the emerging field of Somatic Ecotherapy. For more than a decade, she has been an active leader in transforming the field of psychotherapy to include connecting to the natural world as an essential part of healing.
Ariana is founder of The Earthbody Institute, a professional, educational, and transformational forum dedicated to the cultivation of dynamic mutual relationships with the natural world. She is creator of the groundbreaking Professional Ecotherapy Training and Certification Program, now entering its tenth year. She facilitates workshops locally and internationally, including Online Ecotherapy Certificate Programs, Ecotherapy Immersion Programs and consultation groups.
Ariana believes that developing a consistent nature connection practice with elements of somatic awareness and openness to the sacred can foster a more holistic and balanced way of life. She is devoted to her own daily spiritual practice in nature, and encourages her private clients and students to develop their own practice. In all of her programs, she facilitates creation of a strong Earth-honored community, fulfilling an ancient human need of experiencing a profound connection to the sacredness of all beings.
Ariana is thrilled to be practicing Ecotherapy outdoors in the East Bay hills with many of her individual clients. Her main therapeutic influences include: Brainspotting, Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy, Somatic Ecotherapy, Dance Movement Therapy and Earth-based trainings from The School of Lost Borders.
Musenge Luchembe, LMFT, Ecotherapist, is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice. She has training in Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy, Reiki, Acupressure, and Authentic Movement and earned her Ecotherapy Certificate from The Earthbody Institute in 2018. Some populations Musenge has worked with include immigrants and refugees with environmental and war trauma as well as social activists and people of color in the LBGTQ+ community.
Musenge’s advocacy and appreciation for nature began in the tropical forests that surrounded her childhood home in her native country of Zambia. Musenge moved frequently as child but always made friends with the trees and animals around her until she moved to the United States as teenager. After a difficult transition to California, Musenge was able to reconnect with nature, feel safe in her new home and deepen her spiritual connection to nature through participating in several years of ecotherapy sessions.
Musenge supports her clients in experiencing a similar sense of freedom, creativity and healing at Edwin Warner Park, in Nashville, TN. In addition to Urban Ecotherapy, Musenge also practices Indoor Ecotherapy and Animal Assisted Therapy with her Chihuahua/Terrier, Doobie, as well as provides workshops for other healers.
Musenge enjoys walking the trails with her partner and young son, tending to her indoor and outdoor plants, listening to live music on the grass at Centennial Park, canoeing the Harpeth River and trying out new ethnic dishes. www.musengetherapy.com
Adrián Villasenor-Galarza, PhD, is passionate about human transformation in service of the living Earth, in order to uncover the regenerative expression of our deep potentials. Nature has served as sustenance and inspiration for Adrián since his early childhood. In his PhD research he advanced an Integral Ecopsychology, fruit of the confluence of Eastern liberation teachings and the study of the human-nature connection, resulting in an elemental framework for self-discovery, healing, and sustainable action.
He’s the founder and director of the Bioalchemy Institute, mostly active in México and Latin America, a pioneering project dedicated to healing the relation between humans and the rest of nature through transformative education for body, mind, and spirit. In addition, Adrián is the seed originator of the Work That Reconnects Latin America, assisting Spanish speaking people from the Americas and beyond to reclaim their true, wild place in the Earthly web of life.
Adrián has offered workshops and talks internationally, both to the general public and academic audiences, for over 16 years and works one-on-one with clients through a contemplative, eco-systemic, and transpersonal lens. He’s also a ritualist whose focus revolves around an animist approach to healing and empowerment. He’s the author of a handful of books that explore a reverential, enchanted, and evolutionary perspective of humans and Earth, and translator into Spanish of Joanna Macy’s seminal book, Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide of the Work That Reconnects.
Adrián’s work is considered a Latin American referent when it comes to Deep Ecology, Ecopsychology, and Earth-based spirituality.
http://living-flames.com
Niralli D’Costa, LMFT, MA, Somatic Ecotherapist, is a licensed psychotherapist, teacher and practitioner of integrative energy healing modality Syntara System. She believes that everything that we need in order to heal and awaken is available to us in the natural world. Niralli draws upon her long-term study of yoga, meditation, and tantra to support people on their spiritual path and healing journey. She is passionate about serving people who have been marginalized, and she sees social justice as central to our collective liberation, healing, and evolution.
Niralli received her MA from the Somatic Psychology department at John F. Kennedy University and completed her Ecotherapy Certification with The Earthbody Institute in 2013. She has taught at the intersections of social justice, embodied spiritual practice, and nature-based elemental healing at a range of institutions. She has served as adjunct faculty at UC Berkeley, John F. Kennedy University, Syntara System School of Energy Awareness, the Mind Body Therapy Certificate Program at Embodied Philosophy, and currently serves as affiliate faculty in the Spiritual and Depth Psychology Specialization at Antioch University.
In 2013, Niralli founded the Oakland Holistic Psychotherapy Center and practiced beyond her Oakland office, outdoors amidst the redwoods, pine, and oaks of the California Bay Area. In 2018, she relocated to the chaparral and beaches of Southern California where she grew up. She currently practices online and looks forward to the day when she can integrate ecological restoration into her therapeutic group work. Niralli has a passion for creating ritual, transformative, and immersive eco-therapeutic experiences for and with her clients. She is thrilled to come full circle, joining The EarthBody Institute as a teacher. https://www.nirallitara.com/
Kai Siedenburg is a nature connection guide, Ecotherapist, and poet who is a pioneer in integrating nature awareness and mindfulness as a path to mind-body wellness. She is passionate about helping people connect with nature as a path to greater peace, joy, and healing in their lives and in the world.
Kai loves to empower people to find simple ways to connect with the Earth in daily life, to cultivate deeper bonds with wild places, and to access nature-based healing. Her first book, Poems of Earth and Spirit: 70 Poems and 40 Practices to Deepen Your Connection with Nature, celebrates our innate kinship with all life and helps us strengthen that kinship wherever we are.
As the founder of Our Nature Connection, Kai offers group programs, individual sessions, and consulting services based on a unique approach she calls NatureWise. Her approach is rooted in deep listening to nature, infused with love for people and the Earth, and shaped by what activist Carolyn Casey calls “a willingness to collaborate with everything.”
Kai’s work is also is informed by 30-plus years of professional experience developing innovative educational programs and by extensive training and practice in mindfulness, holistic healing, and creative expression. Prior to founding Our Nature Connection, she spent 25 years leading non-profit campaigns and programs to advance sustainable and socially just food systems.
Kai is profoundly nourished by her deep love of the lands and waters of the Santa Cruz area, where she has lived for more than 30 years.
Amanda Morrison, LMFT, MA, Somatic Ecotherapist, is a licensed psychotherapist who weaves earth wisdom and body awareness to help people recover a deeper sense of connection to themselves and the world around them. She has been passionate about the healing power of nature since she left her high tech career in 2002 to explore her own relationship to nature. This life changing pursuit led her down the path of becoming a therapist and focusing on ecopsychology as a vehicle for personal and collective healing.
For the past decade she has specialized in using ecotherapy to help people heal from early childhood trauma and to find long term recovery from addiction and other mental health issues. She is the creator of the Bayside Marin Ecotherapy Program, a premier residential dual-diagnosis treatment center in San Rafael, CA. The program Amanda created uses horticultural therapy and other ecotherapeutic approaches to help people access the wisdom and healing power of nature as part of their recovery from addiction. Previously Amanda worked in the Insight Garden program in San Quentin, where she facilitated ecotherapy groups for incarcerated men serving time in prison.
Amanda graduated from the Somatic Psychotherapy program at the California Institute of Integral Studies and has training in various somatic and ecotherapeutic modalities, including: Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Authentic Movement, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, The Work that Reconnects, and various rites of passage practices. In addition to her clinical work, Amanda spent 10 years as an adjunct professor at CIIS, where she taught an experiential ecopsychology course, as well as various other interdisciplinary courses to undergraduate students, with a strong focus on ecopsychology, somatics, and social justice. Her article “Embodying Sentience” was published in the book, Ecotherapy, Healing with Nature in Mind. Currently, Amanda has a private practice in San Francisco and in the East Bay where she sees clients both in the office and on the trails of the East Bay Regional Parks. Amanda is an avid gardener and hiker. Her own daily nature practice keeps her grounded in her body and connected to the land as she navigates these unpredictable but exciting times we are living through.
https://www.amandamorrisonmft.com/
Information on Continuing Education Credit for Health Professionals
- CE credits for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
- LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
- SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes.
For questions about receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact The Earthbody Institute at earthbodyinstitute@gmail.com.
For questions about CE, contact Spiritual Competency Academy at info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.