Category: Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy

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The 7Cs – Compassion

Pride Month

“If your compassion does not include yourself it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield

People who have difficulties with emotional aggression are generally people who care deeply about the people in their lives. They have the capacity to be very caring and compassionate people. Their emotional aggression is often the result of attempting to express their compassion in maladaptive ways. If you didn’t care about people, would there be any need to get all worked up in the first place? Would there be any need to act in emotionally aggressive ways about people you didn’t care about?

This is because the opposite of “compassion” isn’t anger or conflict. The opposite of compassion is apathy. If you didn’t care, there’d be nothing to be upset about.

Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy is about learning to channel that passion in compassionate and productive ways rather than in destructive and emotionally aggressive ways. We do this by learning to focus on relationships in a compassionate way.

As Jack Kornfield reminds us, if our compassion does not include ourselves, then our compassion is incomplete. Being compassionate means learning to also be gentle with ourselves by realizing that we are entitled to make mistakes. Mistakes are opportunities for growth and learning. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if you didn’t make mistakes, you’d never learn anything, because if you never made a mistake, it meant that you already knew what you were doing in the first place.

Compassion with Self and Others

To be compassionate with yourself as well as with others, learn to view mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than as opportunities to beat yourself (or others) up. When you make a mistake, focus on your intention in the situation. If, for example, your intention is to have a compassionate relationship with someone, but you make a mistake that doesn’t reflect that intention, regroup and try again. Return to your intention in the situation, apologize if necessary, correct the mistake if possible, learn from it, and continue in a more compassionate fashion.

The idea behind using Meme Triads is to move from a problem-focused paradigm to a solution-focused paradigm. One of the goals of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy is to begin to think in terms of solutions instead of in terms of problems. When we start thinking in terms of solutions, we begin to live with intention. We begin to live with compassion.

The power of intention is one of the skills of mindfulness, so by living deliberately and with intention, we move to a solution-focused paradigm.

Since emotional aggression is the result of maladaptive attempts to be compassionate with others, half of the battle is already won! If we weren’t concerned about the other people in our lives, we wouldn’t care how they felt, or how we felt after interacting with them. So the element of care and concern for others is already present when we act out of emotional aggression.

When we behave in emotionally aggressive ways, we are doing it because we care. It’s just that the way we have chosen to express that care and concern is actually having the opposite effect of the way we intended it. Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy is a way to learn to express care and concern in positive ways rather than in ways that focus on the negatives.

The ultimate goal of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy is take the care and concern we feel for others and to focus on the positive by expressing that love in compassionate, rather than aggressive, ways. When we learn to do so without assumption and without judgment for self or others, we will have taken a giant step forward towards living fully in True Self.

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Changes to the Facilitator Certification Program

Facilitator Certification Program for Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy (MBE)

In order to offer more flexible options for the Mindfulness-Based Facilitator Certification Program, we have made some changes to the path to certification. There are now TWO options that lead to certification.

In the past we’ve only offered the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Facilitator Certification Program as a package; however, there are three courses contained within the program itself.

Program content for the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Facilitator Certification training includes:

  1. Mindfulness for Therapists – 10 online hours
  2. Ecotherapy for Therapists – 10 online hours
  3. Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Program Facilitator Training – 30 online hours
  4. Case Presentation

TOTAL = 50 online hours

We are now offering another option.

You may now also purchase the courses individually and complete them one at a time, instead of purchasing the entire package at once. The complete certification package offers you a substantial savings (over 20%) over buying the courses individually, but you may also purchase the courses listed above separately and complete them one at a time if you prefer this option. If you choose this option, you will need to contact us when you are ready to submit your case presentation.

If you have any questions about this new option, please feel free to contact me using the form below.

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Peer-Reviewers Wanted for New Journal

Mindfulness for Therapists

In 2024 the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, LLC will begin publishing the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Journal. This journal will be specific to research in the field of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy.

As a part of this process we will be looking for peer reviewers to serve on the publication panel for the journal.

If you are a credentialed mental health professional or educator interested in serving on this panel in a volunteer capacity, please complete the form below.

No Fields Found.
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Mindful Acceptance: Letting Go with Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy

mindful acceptance

“Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others.”

— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

One of the most powerful skills in mindfulness-based ecotherapy is mindful acceptance. Mindful acceptance is the art of letting go of unnecessary suffering while remaining fully present with life as it is. Unlike some approaches that focus only on changing thoughts or managing symptoms internally, mindfulness-based ecotherapy (MBE) emphasizes reconnecting with the natural world, the body, the senses, and the present-moment experience as pathways toward healing and resilience.

Mindfulness-based ecotherapy differs from many traditional mindfulness practices because it does not view mindfulness as something that occurs only inside the mind. Instead, MBE recognizes that humans are part of an interconnected ecological system. Healing happens not only through awareness of thoughts and emotions, but also through restoring a relationship with the earth, the body, community, and the rhythms of nature itself.

The skill of mindful acceptance teaches you to recognize the difference between what you can change and what you cannot. Once you have done everything realistically within your power to address a problem, continued anxiety and rumination no longer serve a useful purpose. At that point, mindful acceptance asks you to loosen your grip on the stress attached to the situation.

Mindful Acceptance Doesn’t Mean Giving Up

Importantly, letting go of anxiety does not necessarily mean giving up on solving the problem.

Suppose you have a car payment due and you do not currently have the money to pay it. Naturally, this situation may trigger fear, worry, and stress. You may brainstorm solutions, ask for help, reduce expenses, or search for additional income. However, once you have taken every practical step available in the present moment, the constant cycle of worry becomes emotionally exhausting and often counterproductive.

In mindfulness-based ecotherapy, one of the twelve core skills involves learning to observe your thoughts and feelings nonjudgmentally while grounding yourself in sensory awareness. You might sit outdoors beneath a tree, feel your feet on the earth, notice the movement of the wind, or listen to birdsong while observing the anxious thoughts moving through your awareness. Nature becomes an anchor that reminds you that life continues unfolding even during uncertainty.

Unlike purely cognitive approaches that may focus primarily on changing thought patterns, MBE integrates embodied awareness and ecological connection. The natural world helps regulate the nervous system by drawing your attention away from repetitive mental loops and back into the present moment.

Mindful Acceptance, Observing, and Describing

Another essential MBE skill is mindful observing. Instead of immediately reacting to anxiety, you learn to notice it with curiosity. What does the anxiety feel like in your body? Is your chest tight? Is your breathing shallow? Are your thoughts racing toward worst-case scenarios? By observing rather than fighting the experience, you create space between yourself and the anxiety.

This space allows you to make conscious decisions rather than reacting automatically.

The same principle applies in relationships. Imagine you feel disconnected from your partner because they rarely spend time with you. You suggest activities, initiate conversations, and communicate your feelings honestly, yet nothing changes. Many people respond to this situation by escalating their efforts to control the outcome. They may criticize, plead, withdraw emotionally, or become consumed with resentment.

Mindfulness-based ecotherapy approaches this differently.

Self-Compassion and Mindful Acceptance

One of the MBE skills involves recognizing the limits of personal control while strengthening self-awareness and self-compassion. You cannot force another person to change. However, you can change how you respond internally and externally. Practicing mindful acceptance means acknowledging your sadness, frustration, or disappointment without allowing those emotions to dominate your life.

In ecotherapy, the natural world often serves as a mirror for this process. Seasons change without resistance. Trees release leaves when it is time to let go. Rivers flow around obstacles instead of endlessly struggling against them. Nature teaches flexibility, adaptation, and resilience.

This ecological perspective is one of the major ways MBE differs from other mindfulness approaches. While many mindfulness practices emphasize internal awareness alone, mindfulness-based ecotherapy intentionally uses nature as both teacher and therapeutic partner.

Another of the twelve skills of MBE involves reducing rumination through present-moment sensory grounding. Rumination occurs when the mind repeatedly replays fears, regrets, or imagined future disasters. The more mental energy you feed into these cycles, the stronger they become.

Mindful acceptance interrupts this process.

You may notice the anxious thought arise, acknowledge it compassionately, and then redirect your awareness toward immediate sensory experience: the smell of rain, the warmth of sunlight, the sound of leaves moving in the wind, or the sensation of breathing deeply in fresh air. These practices help regulate emotional overwhelm by reconnecting you with the physical world instead of remaining trapped inside mental narratives.

Anxiety Has a Purpose

Mindfulness-based ecotherapy also recognizes that anxiety itself has a purpose. Anxiety evolved as a protective system designed to alert us to danger. In mindful acceptance, you are not trying to destroy anxiety or suppress difficult emotions. Instead, you learn to relate to them differently.

You might silently say:

“Thank you, anxiety, for trying to protect me. I am listening carefully, but I will also trust my own wisdom.”

This compassionate inner dialogue reflects another MBE principle: developing a collaborative relationship with your emotions instead of waging war against them.

Finally, mindful acceptance teaches that mistakes are not evidence of failure, but growth opportunities. In nature, growth rarely occurs without struggle. Forests regenerate after fires. Rivers carve canyons through persistence over time. Ecosystems adapt continuously to changing conditions.

Human beings are no different.

Every mistake contains information that can deepen wisdom, resilience, and self-understanding. Through mindful acceptance, you learn that healing does not require perfection. It requires awareness, compassion, flexibility, and the willingness to remain present even during uncertainty.

Mindfulness-based ecotherapy reminds you that while you cannot always control life’s circumstances, you can learn to live more peacefully within them. By reconnecting with nature, practicing mindful awareness, and letting go of unnecessary struggle, you create space for healing, growth, and inner balance.

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The Skill of Mindfulness: Learning a New Way of Living

skill of mindfulness
skill of mindfulness

The skill of mindfulness is much like learning any other ability in life. At first, it may feel awkward, unfamiliar, or even frustrating. That’s because mindfulness often asks you to do the exact opposite of what you have been conditioned to do for years. Instead of reacting automatically, mindfulness encourages you to pause. Instead of avoiding difficult emotions, mindfulness teaches you to notice them with awareness and compassion. Instead of living on autopilot, mindfulness invites you to become fully present in your life.

Because of this, practicing the skill of mindfulness can initially feel uncomfortable. Many mindfulness exercises may seem strange simply because they are different from the fast-paced, distracted, and reactive habits most people develop over time. But “different” does not mean bad. It simply means new. Every meaningful change in life begins with stepping outside familiar patterns.

Practicing the Skill of Mindfulness

One of the most important things to remember about the skill of mindfulness is that it takes practice. You probably will not feel completely calm, centered, or enlightened after trying mindfulness once or twice. In fact, many people become discouraged because they expect immediate results. Mindfulness is not a quick fix or magic solution. It is a gradual process of retraining the mind and learning healthier ways of relating to thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

Patience is essential. Growth often happens slowly and quietly. Just because you do not notice a dramatic change right away does not mean mindfulness is not working. Like planting a seed, the benefits develop over time with consistent care and attention.

There is an old saying often attributed to Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Whether Einstein actually said it or not, the idea contains an important truth. If your current habits repeatedly lead to stress, anxiety, emotional pain, conflict, or dissatisfaction, then continuing those same habits will likely produce the same outcomes. Familiar behaviors feel comfortable because they are known, even when they are unhealthy.

The skill of mindfulness offers another path.

Observing with the Skill of Mindfulness

Mindfulness teaches you how to step back from automatic reactions and become more intentional in the way you live. Rather than immediately reacting with anger, fear, judgment, or avoidance, you learn to observe what is happening internally before responding. This simple shift can create profound changes in relationships, emotional health, and overall well-being.

For example, many people spend much of their lives worrying about the future or replaying painful memories from the past. The mind becomes trapped in cycles of regret, fear, shame, or anticipation. Mindfulness gently guides attention back to the present moment. The present moment is where life is actually happening. When you become grounded in the present, you may notice that many worries lose some of their power.

The Skill of Mindfulness: More than Meditation

Although meditation is often associated with mindfulness, the skill of mindfulness is much more than sitting quietly with your eyes closed. Mindfulness is a way of approaching everyday life. You can practice mindfulness while walking, eating, listening to music, washing dishes, driving, or having a conversation. Any moment can become an opportunity to practice awareness.

Mindfulness also encourages greater self-compassion. Many people criticize themselves harshly whenever they struggle or make mistakes. Mindfulness teaches you to notice those self-critical thoughts without becoming consumed by them. Instead of attacking yourself for being imperfect, you learn to approach yourself with patience and understanding. This shift alone can be deeply healing.

Learning the skill of mindfulness is similar to learning music, painting, sports, or any other craft. Nobody becomes an expert overnight. Leonardo da Vinci did not paint the Mona Lisa the first time he picked up a paintbrush. Great skill develops through repeated practice, persistence, and willingness to learn from mistakes.

Permission to Practice Imperfectly

The same is true for mindfulness. Some days you may feel calm and focused. On other days, your mind may wander constantly. That is normal. The goal of mindfulness is not perfection. The goal is awareness. Each time you gently bring your attention back to the present moment, you are strengthening the skill of mindfulness little by little.

Over time, mindfulness can help you become more emotionally balanced, less reactive, and more connected to your experiences. It can improve relationships, reduce stress, and help you cultivate a deeper sense of peace and acceptance. Most importantly, mindfulness helps you live your life more fully instead of merely rushing through it on autopilot.

Permit yourself to practice imperfectly. You do not need to master mindfulness immediately. Simply begin where you are. With time, patience, and repetition, the skill of mindfulness can become a natural and meaningful part of your daily life. It is a skill that requires practice. Leonardo da Vinci didn’t paint the Mona Lisa the first time he picked up a paintbrush. Leonardo Da Vinci didn’t paint the Mona Lisa the first time he picked up a paintbrush. Likewise, you probably won’t be able to jump right into a ‘mindful awareness’ mode of being without a lot of practice. That’s okay. Permit yourself to practice once in a while. The more you do so, the more mindful you’ll become!

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Learning to be Mindful: The Fisherman and His Son

fisherman and his son

The Fisherman and His Son is a parable that illustrates how to be mindfully intentional. It’s been said that the definition of insanity is “Doing the same thing in the same way and expecting different results.” In other words, if what you’re doing isn’t working, doing more of the same isn’t likely to work either. It may be time to do something different.

Mindfulness is a way to do something different.

When we commit to change, it sometimes feels strange at first. If you think about it, this only makes sense because if it didn’t feel weird, you’d probably already be doing it. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get the change you want. This parable illustrates the concept of being open to trying something new, even if it feels strange at first.

The Fisherman and His Son: A Mindful Parable

A fisherman and his son were at sea, going about the daily tasks of catching enough fish to make their living. It was a beautiful spring day, and they were both enjoying the ocean. They were having a particularly good day. They had caught many fish, and they were ready to turn for home and make their way back to the shore when the fisherman noticed a tiny leak at the bow of the boat. The boat was slowly filling up with water. While the leak wasn’t a big one, they both realized that the boat would be full of water before they could row back to shore.

The father and son began to panic as they thought of the prospect of losing not only their boat, but the fine catch they had made that day. In his panic, the father suddenly seized upon an idea. He grabbed the oar and punched a hole in the side of the boat.

The son thought his fisherman father had gone mad. “What are you doing?” the son shouted.

The father replied, “I’m punching a hole in the bottom of the boat so the water can flow out!”

They both watched in horror as more water rushed into the boat the father had made. Seeing that his idea had not succeeded, but had only made things worse, the father began to furiously punch even more holes in the bottom of the boat.

The son, upon seeing this, yelled at his father, “Will you please stop it? Can’t you see you are only making things worse?”

But the fisherman said, “No, my idea will work! I just didn’t have enough holes in the boat! If I keep punching holes in the boat, the water will eventually flow out!”

The son watched helplessly as the father, in a frenzy, continued to batter more holes into the hull of the boat. Finally, the boat overflowed, sinking to the bottom of the sea and taking the catch of the day with it. The father and son had to swim to shore.

Upon arriving at the shore, totally exhausted, they both realized that they had not only lost a fine catch, but they had also lost their means of making a living. With the boat gone, they could no longer be fishermen. With great sadness, they turned to make their way home, wondering about what they’d do to survive in the future.

To think about…

What solutions to problems have you been trying that only make the problem worse? How could you make it better instead? If what you’re doing isn’t working, could it be time to try something different?

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Living in the Moment

living in the moment

Living in the moment is a key skill of mindfulness. We all have things that make us anxious. Think about some things that cause you anxiety or stress. Now ask yourself, “How many of them have to do with worrying about events that happened in the past?”

It doesn’t matter how recently the event took place. It could have been five years ago, five days ago, five minutes ago, or five seconds ago.

Now, how many of them have to do with anxiety over an event that may or may not happen in the future? Some events that cause you stress might involve both the past and the future, because you may be disappointed or angry about something that happened in the past and concerned that it will happen again in the future.

Do any of your worries have to do with anything that is occurring right now, at this very moment? Note that some things may have their root causes in the past, but you may be worried or anxious about them in the present. In such a case, the event that led to your present anxiety is still in the past. It’s your choice in the present moment whether or not to pay attention to the memory of that event. This is the essence of living in the moment.

Think about the things that cause you stress in your day-to-day life. As you do, ponder the fact that unless someone invents a time machine, you cannot go back and change anything in the past. The past no longer exists except in your memory. Since the only place the past exists is in your memory, you are in control of it. You can choose which memories to pay attention to and which to ignore. The time to do this is in the present, while living in the moment.

Likewise, the future does not exist except as an extrapolation of the mind. When we anticipate anxiety-provoking events in the future, we are engaging in crystal ball thinking. It’s as if we imagine we have a crystal ball and we’re trying to predict negative outcomes for the future. Trying to anticipate what may or may not happen in the future is just a mental exercise, and nothing based in reality. You might think that some things are likely to happen, and some things are less likely to happen, but unless you have a crystal ball or a time machine, the only way to know for sure what will happen in the future is to wait and see.

living in the moment

The key point to remember here is that feelings are not facts. Moods are not facts. Thoughts are not facts. Moods, thoughts, and feelings are just processes of the mind. If you are stressed or depressed over past or future events, you have the choice over which feelings and moods to pay attention to, and which thoughts and feelings to let go of.

A benefit of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy is that when we leave Doing Mode and enter Being Mode, we stop worrying about the past or stressing over the future, if only for a moment.

Note that this doesn’t mean that leaving Doing Mode and entering Being Mode makes bad moods go away. It just means that by entering Being Mode, we allow ourselves the choice of not giving energy to those negative moods.

By living in the moment, we create some space between our True Selves and our thoughts, moods, and feelings. This space allows us some breathing room. It also allows us to come to know that we are not our moods. We are not our feelings. We get to choose who and what we are.

This all happens by living in the moment.

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Radical Acceptance

Radical acceptance means that you learn to accept yourself and others without judgment. It is a skill that can be learned in an afternoon, yet take a lifetime to master, especially in Western cultures where we are conditioned to strive for certain ideals of perfection. We are told by the media that if we don’t drive the right car, wear the right clothes, eat the right foods, vote for the right political candidate and wear the right perfume, we will not be accepted by others. This conditioning must be overcome in order to achieve radical acceptance.

The first step in radical acceptance is to meditate on the assumptions we have created for ourselves.

Examples of these might be, “I’m not handsome enough,” or, “I’m not smart enough,” or, “Nobody likes me.” Radical acceptance recognizes such thoughts and feelings without making value judgments about them, and without trying to deny or affirm them. For example, the thought, “Nobody likes me,” is not true, but the goal of radical acceptance is to simply note the fact that this thought is present in the observer’s psyche, and not to make a truth value judgment about the contents of the statement. It can be accepted as a thought process while not having to be incorporated into the observer’s sense of identity.

From this perspective, we are less concerned about whether or not the thought or feeling is true as we are about whether or not it is helpful. Is it effective to have these thoughts or feelings? If not, can I let them go?

Case Study: Juliet
Juliet has had a series of relationships. Every time one of these relationships ends, she goes into a downward spiral of emotional self-abuse, telling herself that she’s not good enough to have a relationship, asking herself why she’s such a “loser,” and panicking at the thought of being alone yet again. This panic causes her to leap right into yet another relationship and repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Implicit in all these thought and feeling cycles is the theme, “What’s wrong with me?”

By learning to radically accept herself just as she is, Juliet could come to realize that “This is the way I deal with emotions.” Eventually she may even be able to accept herself with unconditional love, and see this quirk as just a thing she does, and not as a character flaw. When caught in these cycles, Juliet could ask herself, “Is it true that there is something wrong with me? Is it helpful or effective to think that there is something wrong with me?”

Additionally, Juliet could learn that thoughts and feelings are not facts. They’re just things the brain has sometimes been conditioned to do in response to certain situations.

The irony is that by learning to accept these thoughts and feelings as a part of herself, it may lead to the realization that there is nothing wrong with her. Even if she never comes to that realization, she will be able to accept it as just a thing she does from time to time. It is perfectly natural to wonder “Is there something wrong with me;” however, such a question is just a thought, and not a fact.

Radical acceptance is the ability to see clearly the thoughts and feelings that are going on within us, as they occur, and to be able to accept them with love and openness. It also means coming to realize that thoughts and feelings are not facts.

When Juliet began to practice mindful meditation, she came to understand that the panic produced by losing a relationship was caused by her desire to find the “perfect” man for her. By finding this idealized individual, she hoped to prove her own self-worth. In her mind, if she could find the perfect man, he would help her to become the perfect woman. As Juliet came to recognize that her idea of perfection was just an arbitrary standard she had imposed on herself, she was able to accept and even love herself, even with all of her perceived “flaws.” This diminished need to be “perfect” allowed her to actually move towards loving herself just as she was. This renewed self-confidence allowed her to enter into a relationship that later led to a happy and successful marriage.

Juliet credited the success of her relationship on the fact that, “I learned to be responsible for my own happiness and well-being. In my previous relationships, I had put the responsibility for my happiness on my partner(s), and this impossible situation eventually drove them away. Once I learned to accept responsibility for my own happiness, I found someone with whom to share that happiness.”

Radical acceptance is about minimizing avoidance as much as possible. By meeting life head-on instead of trying to avoid certain aspects of it (such as unpleasant thoughts and emotions), we are able to live life more fully.
According to Hoffman & Asmundson (2008), “Patients are encouraged to embrace unwanted thoughts and feelings – such as anxiety, pain, and guilt – as an alternative to experiential avoidance. The goal is to end the struggle with unwanted thoughts and feelings without attempting to change or eliminate them.”

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125–143. Introduction to Special Issue 183

Cordon, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Gibson, P. R. (2009). The role of mindfulness-based stress reduction in perceived stress: Preliminary evidence for the moderating role of attachment style. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 23(3), 258–269.

Dimeff, L., & Linehan, M.M. (2001). Dialectical Behavior Therapy in a Nutshell. The California Psychologist, 34, 10-13.

Hofmann, S. G., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2008). Acceptance and mindfulness-based therapy: New wave or old hat? Clinical Psychology Review, 28(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.09.003

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FREE Course: Ethics of Ecotherapy

In our ongoing effort to improve the quality of the courses we offer, we will be applying to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) to be able to provide LIVE continuing education opportunities in addition to our online offerings.

As part of this process we are offering this FREE two-hour course on Ethics in Ecotherapy in June of 2023!

This course will cover some ethics issues common to the practice of ecotherapy. In addition to two free hours of continuing education on the Ethics of Ecotherapy, participants will receive a coupon code good for $25 off any course offered by the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, LLC.

This course will be conducted by Zoom, so you will need access to Zoom for the course.

Course Description

Ecotherapy usually includes doing therapy outdoors. Therapy in non-traditional settings presents unique ethical challenges. These ethical issues are usually not covered in therapy graduate school programs. In this course we will discuss how to address some common ethical issues for therapists and counselors that are unique to the process of ecotherapy.  

Course Objectives

After taking this course the student will be able to:

  • Discuss and describe confidentiality and informed consent issues common to the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss training recommendations regarding the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss assessment and client safety issues common to the practice of ecotherapy
  • Discuss and describe what constitutes dual relationships in ecotherapy
  • Discuss and describe values conflicts in ecotherapy settings
  • Develop a sense of self-awareness for counselors and therapists practicing ecotherapy  

Course Instructions

This is a LIVE course that will be offered on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time. An email reminder containing the Zoom code to access the course will be sent the day before the conference. The conference will be presented on Zoom. You need to be present for the duration of the course to get course credit.

The course will be two hours on Zoom. At the end of the course you will have access to a link for the final exam.

Upon successful completion of the exam you will receive a Certificate of Completion in pdf format, and you will be emailed a coupon code good for $25 off any course offered by the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, LLC.

You may register for this FREE course any time prior to June 20, 2023. If you do not pre-register before the date, we cannot guarantee a seat for the course, so please register as early as possible! You may find help registering for courses and accessing course materials by visiting the Help Center.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS FREE COURSE

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Acceptance vs. Change

Cost-Benefit Analysis Acceptance and Change


“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

-The Serenity Prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr

Many of us are familiar with the Serenity Prayer. It deals with the dialectic of Acceptance vs. Change. This dialectic may be illustrated as the in the picture above.

One of the skills we develop in the practice of mindfulness is the skill of acceptance. Acceptance allows us to experience emotions and thoughts without feeling obligated to react to them. This is done by noting the emotion or thought, and then letting go of the thought and feeling processes that the emotion generates. Acceptance teaches us that thoughts and feelings are not facts. They are simply processes of the mind.

Mindful awareness teaches us the art of acceptance. Emotional reactions to our circumstances are natural, but that doesn’t mean that we have to respond to these emotions. The mindful skill of acceptance teaches us that we can experience these emotions without engaging in cycles of behavior, thought or feeling that lead us to negative consequences. Acceptance teaches us that we are not our thoughts, and that we are not our emotions. At any time we can choose which thoughts and emotions we wish to respond to, and which to let go of.

“Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others.”

-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Some things in life that cause us stress, anxiety and depression are things we can change. Others are things we cannot change, but must learn to accept. As Niebuhr reminds us, true wisdom lies in knowing the difference between the two. In Being Mode, we come to recognize the fact that true happiness can only come from within. There’s good news and bad news with this realization. The bad news is that nobody can change your life circumstances but you. The good news is that nobody can change your life circumstances but you.
Mindful Acceptance includes, among other things, the idea that you can only change yourself. If your problems involve other people, then you can only accept that they are who they are. You cannot change anyone but yourself.

The art of Mindful Acceptance can best be described as the Art of Letting Go. Once you have done everything in your power to solve a problem, you have done all you can, so at that point worry and stress is counterproductive.

Note that letting go of the stress and anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean letting go of the problem itself. For example, suppose you have a car payment coming up, and you don’t have the money to pay it. This would naturally cause you anxiety. If, after brainstorming for solutions, you find that you still don’t have the money to pay the car payment, then at that point you’ve done all you can do. So at that point, you let go of the anxiety associated with the problem.

That doesn’t mean that you let go of car payments altogether. You’ll make the payment when you can. In this instance, letting go just means that you won’t worry about not being able to make the payment. The energy you might have used worrying about the situation could be put to better use in trying to come up with solutions.

Let’s try another example, this one a bit tougher. Imagine you’re in a relationship. You feel that your partner doesn’t spend enough time with you. You offer suggestions on activities you can do together, only to be met with a blank stare or excuses about why your partner doesn’t have the time to participate in an activity with you.

Once you’ve done everything you can do to persuade your partner to spend more time with you, if you still aren’t getting the results you want, it’s time to practice letting go. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you let go of your partner. It just means that you let go of the anxiety associated with the problem. Once you let go of that anxiety, you may find that your partner will actually want to spend more time with you, because you are less stressed-out. But even if this is not the case, you’ve let go of the stress associated with an emotionally distant partner.

Mindful Acceptance is looking at the thoughts and feelings that cause you anxiety, worry, or stress. As you examine these thoughts, ask yourself which of these thoughts concern things you have the power to change. Make a conscious decision to focus your energy only on those things in your life that you have the power to change. If you focus on those things that you cannot change, you are not using your energy to change the things that you can.

Decide right now that you will not feed your negative thoughts by giving in to them. Realize that it is natural to have negative thoughts, but having those thoughts does not mean that they have to control your life. Learn trust your own inner wisdom. While negative thoughts may come, you do not have to let them rule your life.

Another key to Mindful Acceptance is to understand that anxiety has a useful purpose. It is nature’s way of letting us know that there is something wrong. Your anxiety protects you from harm, but sometimes it may do its job too well. Ask your anxiety if it is trying to protect you from something that you cannot change. Picture yourself thanking your anxiety for protecting you, and say to your anxiety, “I am now using my own inner wisdom to make positive choices in my life.”

Mindful Acceptance teaches us that each mistake is an opportunity for growth. Each mistake contains a lesson. If you never made a mistake, you would never have an opportunity to learn and grow. In Mindful Acceptance, you learn to accept your mistakes as signs that you are becoming a stronger and wiser individual.

Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach for preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press.