Ecopsychology

Producing Crisis: Green Consumerism as an Ecopedagogical Issue

by Richard Kahn

In Jenny Sandlin and Peter McLaren (Eds.), Critical Pedagogies of Consumption (Routledge), 2009

Back to Nature

by Martin Jordan

A growing field of
outdoor and adventure
therapy practices
connects individuals
to the healing... more A growing field of
outdoor and adventure
therapy practices
connects individuals
to the healing benefits
of nature. But are we
doing enough inside
the therapy room to
address the impact of
environmental issues on
mental health?

Nature and Self an Ambivalent Attachment?

by Martin Jordan

This article explores how our attachment to nature is formed in
our early love relationships and draws on ideas... more This article explores how our attachment to nature is formed in
our early love relationships and draws on ideas from psychodynamic theory and contemporary research in developmental psychology to explore the development of the self, the importance of attachment, how “splits” have formed between self and nature as a protection against vulnerability, and potential ways forward indealing with this. The article argues that at the heart of our current ecological crisis are fundamental problems of dependency and vulnerability, resulting for many in an ambivalent attachment tonature. Understanding the complex ways in which humans react to intimacy as a result of early attachment is central to the project of ecopsychology and the ways in which people can help understandand shift the nature of their relationships, both to the planet and with each other. The article concludes by looking at evidence for a securely attached “ecological self”

Reclaiming The Sacred: A Festival Experience as a Response to Globalisation

by Karin Mackay

published in Journal for the Study of Religion, vol 24, No 2, 2011

Pressures of globalisation such as the focus on the growth of productive economies, consumerism, and long work-hours... more Pressures of globalisation such as the focus on the growth of productive economies, consumerism, and long work-hours have fragmented cultural beliefs and practices worldwide. Devaluation of deeply held soulful, creative, and nature-based practices in the dominant neoliberal capitalist discourse has challenged the way cultural and spiritual wellbeing are lived. Instead of being completely subsumed into the neoliberal global discourse, local responses incorporating global themes are emerging in the form of the “neo-tribal” festival experience. Although festivals have primarily been seen as places of consumption, this misunderstands the drive to participate in a festival experience. This article investigates a women’s arts and ecology festival held in The Blue Mountains, Australia, where members of the local community celebrate the return of spring. Findings suggest that this festival was a site for reclaiming a localized sense of connectedness, where participants reclaimed what was sacred to them. I will argue that consumerism is secondary to the desire for a sacred synergy of connectedness at this festival where critical creative action challenges the neoliberal and patriarchal discourses in the negotiation of global culture.

A Life in the Woods: Protest Site Paganism

by Adrian Harris

This auto-ethnography of my research at UK protest sites illustrates how the power of place can catalyse a Pagan... more This auto-ethnography of my research at UK protest sites illustrates how the power of place can catalyse a Pagan spirituality.

The power of place: Protest site pagans

by Adrian Harris

My fieldwork with activists living on UK protest camps revealed the impact of spending extended periods of time in the... more My fieldwork with activists living on UK protest camps revealed the impact of spending extended periods of time in the organic environment. The wilderness effect – previously described in the context of US treks in places like the Grand Canyon – was apparent even in comparatively urban environments and catalysed a spiritual emergence for several people. I begin by explaining the context of protest site activism and spirituality. I then draw on my fieldwork to describe how key aspects of the wilderness effect were expressed on UK protest sites and discuss some of the life changing experiences catalysed by the effect. I then outline my model of embodied situated cognition and use it to provide a partial explanation for how the wilderness effect works.

Ecopsychology: A perspective on trauma

by Martin Milton

Corbett, L. and Milton, M. (2011) Ecopsychology: A perspective on trauma, European Journal of Ecopsychology, 2: 28-47

Literature has suggested that the cyclical nature of psychological trauma can cause enduring long-term effects on... more Literature has suggested that the cyclical nature of psychological trauma can cause enduring long-term effects on individuals and those around them. This review examines the effects of psychological trauma and its relationship to ecopsychology to provoke questions about integration and stimulate debate pertinent to trauma therapy. While being relatively unexplored with regards to psychological trauma, empirical evidence is beginning to amass to suggest that ecopsychology could be incorporated as a beneficial therapeutic approach. This paper will outline existing approaches to trauma before considering it from an ecopsychological perspective. Some contributions such as wilderness journeys, contemplative practices and the Natural Growth Project, along with their therapeutic and practical implications will be discussed in more depth along with their limitations and empirical challenges. Speculative practical and therapeutic implications are identified and relevant future research is suggested.

Keywords: ecopsychology; psychological trauma; posttraumatic stress disorder; nature.

Disabled horse riders' experiences of Horse-Riding: A phenomenological analysis of the benefits of contact with animals

by Martin Milton

Favali, V. and Milton, M. (2010) ‘Disabled Horse-Rider’s Experience of Horse-Riding: Exploring the Therapeutic Benefits of Contact with Animals’ Existential Analysis, 21.2: pp 251-262.

One Tends to Complain of Discomfort But Relish the Memory of Hardship: ‘Being’ in the Wild

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2001) One Tends to Complain of Discomfort But Relish the Memory of Hardship: ‘Being’ in the Wild, Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis. 12.2: 230-244

The Call of the Wild: Lessons from Natural History,

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2003) The Call of the Wild: Lessons from Natural History, Counselling Psychology Review. 18 (1): 3-11

Life and our role in it,

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2007) Life and our role in it, in Counselling Psychology Review, 22(2): 38-40.

In conversation: Martin Milton with Ian McCallum

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2008) In conversation: Martin Milton with Ian McCallum (23.2) Special Issue of Counselling Psychology Review, (23.2) May 2008

Wisdom from the Wilderness

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2008) Wisdom from the Wilderness, Special Issue of Counselling Psychology Review, (23.2) May 2008

Our connection to the Earth: A neglected relationship in counselling psychology

by Martin Milton

Higley, N. and Milton, M. (2008) Our connection to the Earth: A neglected relationship in counselling psychology, Special Issue of Counselling Psychology Review, (23.2) May 2008

Editorial – Ecopsychology: Past, present and future,

by Martin Milton

Jordan, M., Stephens, P. and Milton, M. (2010) Editorial – Ecopsychology: Past, present and future, European Journal of Ecopsychology, V1:1

Coming home to roost: Counselling psychology and the natural world,

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2010) Coming home to roost: Counselling psychology and the natural world, in M. Milton (Ed) Therapy and beyond: Counselling psychology contributions to therapeutic and social issues, Wiley Blackwell: Chichester

Waking up to nature: Exploring a new direction for psychological practice

by Martin Milton

Milton, M. (2009) "Waking up to Nature: A new direction for psychological practice" Ecopsychology, 1 (1): pp 1-6

Art, Place and the Meaning of Home

by Beth Carruthers

A commissioned essay for The Stanley Park Environmental Art Project at Vancouver, Canada

Stevens, P (in press). Towards an ecosociology. Sociology

by Paul Stevens

This article offers insights from ecopsychology – which aims to place human behaviour back in the context of the... more This article offers insights from ecopsychology – which aims to place human behaviour back in the context of the natural world – to further the development of an ecosociology that meets Catton
and Dunlap’s (1978) call for a paradigmatic shift in the way sociology views the role of nature in human society. A more ecocentric viewpoint, reincorporating direct experience, including the environment as part of being embodied, and extending the social to the more-than-human world,could offer new views on the nature of the social, what it is to be human, and wider issues of environmental sustainability. This would be a move towards a revitalized ecosociology that could help humanity come to terms with its unique, but not pre-eminent role in the global system.

Stevens, P. (2009). Exploring Our Physical Connections: The Role of Magnetic Fields in Restorative Environments. Ecopsychology, 1(2): 85-92.

by Paul Stevens

Despite the often heard mantra that “humans are nature too,” the language found in ecopsychology literature is often... more Despite the often heard mantra that “humans are nature too,” the language found in ecopsychology literature is often that of disconnection, separation, and difference. While acknowledging that the complexities of human psychology often means that we perceive such a disconnection, this article argues that we are inseparably embedded within the physical environment. How this affects us physiologically and psychologically is illustrated by focusing on a specific example: the effects of the magnetic field environment on human psychology and physiology. How such effects might in general play a role in processes of attention restoration and place attachment are discussed with the hope that an increased awareness of physical factors and our embedded nature might generate novel insights for ecologically minded psychologists and therapists.