Nature-inspired counseling in Missoula, MT

Metaphors from nature can often provide insight and guidance for our health.  As a mental health counselor in Missoula, MT, I use metaphors to help clients understand cycles in their lives or practices that might benefit them.  I hope you find some of the following metaphors helpful in your life.

Natural Cycles

We see cycles throughout nature.  In the inhale and exhale of our breath, in lunar cycles, in the seasons that circle around each year, they are part of our planet and our bodies.  Cycles demonstrate that change is necessary and guaranteed.  If you feel stuck, or you fear that you won’t be able to get through a difficult time in your life or past a hard emotion the cyclical nature of the world can help you remember that the moment you are in will eventually turn into something else.  When you understand that every emotion and thought is temporary, it may be easier to accept the ones that you don’t like.  Like the trees that lose their leaves each fall, humans have the ability to shed the old and to start growing again.

Cycles also remind us that some slow times are part of life, and that we can’t realistically be happy and energetic all the time.  I refer some clients to a book that I found helpful for understanding this.  In Wintering, The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, by Katherine May, the author describes the practices that many plants and animals employ to get through the winter: hibernating or slowing down to conserve energy, working together to find warmth or share resources, or migrating to find an environment that is more hospitable to them.  I’m not saying we can all take a vacation to Bora Bora, unless that is within your budget and time constraints, but you might take the opportunity to slow down a little, or to change your environment in small, nurturing ways.  In this metaphor, winter doesn’t always arrive in December, January, or February (or November and March in Montana).  It can refer to any time that you are dealing with something hard, such as a loss, a low mood*, or a big change. 

 *This does not mean that you should ignore extended periods of sadness.  If you experience a low mood for an extended period of time, and you find yourself unable to perform your usual life tasks, or if you experience thoughts of harming yourself or others, please reach out to a health-care professional, 911, 988, or talk with someone you trust about how you are doing and the kind of support you might need.

Nature as a reminder

I love lupines.  There are special places where I look for them during a brief period each summer so that I can enjoy them.  If I were not aware of it, I could easily miss that annual display of purple.  For me, the lupine, the larches, the huckleberries, all of these incredible plants that we are lucky to find nearby, are a reminder to be present and to partake of the joys and opportunities present themselves at specific or unpredictable times.   We all get stuck in our thoughts sometimes or focus on all the things that are going wrong, but we can practice building awareness of what is in front of us right now, so we notice the people, places, and events that give us meaning or pleasure.   

In my blog about hiking, I talk about more ways we can connect with nature to remind us to be present and connected.

Interdependence

In nature, so much is connected.  The leaves provide shelter for insects. The sun provides energy for photosynthesis. The fallen trees become nurse logs, providing nutrients for new plants. Like the bugs and the plants and the sun, humans need each other.  During one season, you might be the person providing shelter, warmth, nourishment, or care for another.  Tomorrow, or next month, you may be the one who needs someone to support you. 

Not only do we recognize the importance of connection, but we can also learn about the value in our different strengths and needs from the natural world.  If you compare yourself to others, remember that we don’t just need strong animals like lions, or beautiful plants like flowers.  We also need the spiders and the fallen branches to find balance and harmony and sustainability.

Metaphors as tools

There are many useful techniques that utilize examples or imagery from nature to help us practice responding more effectively to difficult thoughts and emotions.  I often teach these to clients in session so they are available in their “real lives.”  Here are a few of them from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

• Dropping Anchor is a practice that can be helpful when you are overwhelmed by emotions or thoughts.  The metaphor proposes that sometimes these thoughts and emotions are like the weather:  we don’t control them, but we do have some control over how we respond to them.  If you were on a large body in the middle of a storm, fighting through the storm might not be your best course of action.   Similarly, we don’t always make our best decisions when we are overwhelmed.  This is why we drop anchor. Instead of reacting, we Acknowledge the storm (our thoughts and emotions), Connect to our bodies, and Engage with the world around us (ACE).  Click here for one example of this guided practice.  https://www.actmindfully.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Drop-Anchor-Audio-Exercise-2-minutes-1.mp3

• Dipping in and out of the stream is a tool for practicing being present or shifting your focus.  The stream represents all the thoughts we get caught up in, wanted or unwanted.  After you dip into the stream and get carried away by it, you can also choose to step out of the stream and notice what you feel, see, hear, smell, and taste.  This can be practiced like Dropping Anchor, a few times over until you build the ability to notice when you’re getting carried away and to step out to help yourself recenter.

• Leaves on a Stream/Clouds in the Sky:  A slightly more advanced skill is to visualize a stream, notice your thoughts and place them on a leaf, one by one, as you watch them make their way down the stream in their own time.  You can try this with clouds, imagining your thoughts as clouds that pass by, sometimes slowly and sometimes quickly.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the above practices, there are online resources to guide you through them, such as short videos and handouts.  If you’d like someone to support you in applying some of these metaphors to your life, I’d be happy to offer you a free 15-minute consultation to see if we might work together using nature or other approaches to address challenges in your life and changes you want to make.

Anne Graham, LCPC, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Missoula, Montana.  She offers in-person counseling in Missoula, MT and telehealth for clients throughout Montana.  In addition to having a deep interest in the benefits of nature for our well-being, Anne works with people on improving their responses to anxiety, people-pleasing, and perfectionism.  Anne uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in conjunction with perspectives and strategies from other therapeutic approaches.