An Introduction to Ecopsychology: A Body-Based Approach

This introductory course is for anyone in the helping professions who is interested in a body-based approach to Ecopsychology. Ecopsychology brings a psychotherapeutic lens on the causes and impacts of climate chaos, supporting an understanding of individual and collective distress within an earth-based context. As physical beings, we are connected to the world through a system called ‘the body’. As we discover and deepen our embodied awareness we are able to get in touch with life on a more sensitive and intimate level. In this way we can rediscover our interconnectedness with earth as a living system. This training is an opportunity to consider how ecopsychology has emerged as a diverse and eclectic form, with a wide ranging practice-base. Central to all these practices is an acknowledgement of climate chaos as the most pressing issue of our time. The causal relationship between our unsustainable lifestyles, psychological distress and ecological crisis is played out on an individual and a collective level. We will explore the place of body-based practice in the ecopsychological arena, finding time to move, to reflect, to listen and to share. Our body awareness becomes central to the human experience, as we foster sustainable ways of living with the plurality of life on this planet. Goldsmiths offer cutting edge professional training programmes for potential therapists. Within the department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies there is a focus on current issues that impact on well-being within wider social, cultural, political and economic contexts. Climate Change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Human progressive and productivity has forged ahead with little regard for the well-being of our planet and the impact of climate change is increasingly evident.