Eco-Psychotherapy Training for Therapists, Psychologists & Counsellors
A six-week training journey for mental health professionals—with a 7-day immersive retreat at its core.
📆 Next Program Dates: October 21 – December 2, 2025
🌲 Retreat Intensive: November 22–28 at Baanya Byami, Victoria
💰 Cost: $3,960 AUD (incl. GST)
👥 Group size: Max 18 participants
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Developed for clinicians ready to deepen their work through nature-based practice, this program blends clinical theory, embodied process, and nature-based facilitation practice.
Runs Twice a Year - March & November - VIC
With Sean O’Carroll & Claire Dunn: Together, we bring decades of experience in psychotherapy, nature connection, eco-spiritual practice, and group facilitation.
By the end of this training you will have:
Re-examined and deepened your own relationship with the natural world
Gained an understanding of the philosophical and historical foundations of eco-psychology
Explored diverse ways the natural world can inform and shape therapeutic process
Practiced working outdoors as a therapist, supporting your “client” to engage with the more-than-human world
Experienced a number of nature-based interventions that you may wish to employ with clients - individuals or groups
Reflected on how climate crisis and ecological grief invite us to reimagine the goals and values of therapeutic work
Connected with like-minded practitioners seeking to integrate nature into their clinical practice
🌿 How the Training Unfolds
This training unfolds over six weeks and includes online learning, two facilitated Zoom gatherings, and a seven-day immersive retreat. It is designed to support deep personal inquiry, group-based exploration, and the development of your own authentic eco-therapeutic practice.
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1. Foundations
(Pre-Retreat Learning & First Zoom Session)
As soon as you enroll, you’ll gain access to our online learning platform, which includes:
A curated reading list
Multimedia resources (podcasts, articles, video)
Reflection prompts to support your initial inquiry
In late October, we gather for a live Zoom session to:
Meet your facilitators and cohort
Explore the history and foundations of eco-psychology and eco-psychotherapy
Outline key personal and clinical reflections to work with before the retreat
Discuss logistics, safety, and group culture
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2. Immersive Retreat
(November 22–28 at Baanya Byami)
This seven-day intensive takes place on land, in nature, and in community. The retreat is held as a group process from start to finish—balancing personal practice with clinical development. Across the week you will:
Engage in solo practice on land to explore your own experience of being with nature.
Engage in small-group practice and reflection—first in client–therapist–observer triads, then in therapeutic dyads…
Explore numerous practices and processes (a therapeutic tool-kit) that can be utilised in a graded manner with clients
Develop fluency and confidence in holding space outdoors for individual clients
Experience how a nature-based group can be facilitated supportively, safely, and ethically.
Be guided in inquiry such that your own way of working can emerge organically.
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3. Integration & Practice
(Post-Retreat Implementation)
After the retreat, you’ll be supported to take the learning into your own landscape.
You’ll be encouraged to offer at least one nature-based session with a client, peer, or volunteer
During this period, we stay closely connected via a WhatsApp group—offering real-time support, encouragement, and reflection as you prepare for and facilitate your own nature-based session
We reconvene online two weeks later for a final Zoom session to share practice stories, discuss challenges, and reflect on how to carry the work forward
To receive your certificate, you’ll also complete a short final assignment:
A written reflection or case study weaving together your personal insights, experiences and relevant theory—drawing on your retreat work or post-retreat session.
🌱 Who This Is For?
This training is designed for mental health professionals who feel the call to bring nature more deeply into their therapeutic work.
You might be:
A registered psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, counsellor, social worker, mental health nurse, or other mental health professional
Working in private practice, a clinical setting, or community-based care
Drawn to nature as a co-therapist, but unsure how to integrate it safely and ethically
Curious about how nature-based therapy can deepen your work
Ready for an experiential, inquiry-based learning process—not a fixed protocol
Looking to connect with like-minded peers walking a similar path
Many of the people who attend this training come with years of therapy and life experience. However, you are also welcome to apply if you are early in your career, returning from a break, or transitioning from a related profession (e.g. outdoor education, rites of passage facilitation)—we’ll consider each application individually.
🌿 Meet Your Facilitators
SEAN O’CARROLL (Lead)
Founder of the Wild Mind Institute, Sean is a psychotherapist, supervisor, and educator. He has taught for 15 years across psychotherapy, eco-psychotherapy, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and transpersonal psychology, and holds an Honours Degree in Philosophy and an MA in Experiential/Eco-Psychotherapy. His work weaves philosophy, embodiment, dance, and ceremony. Beyond nature-based work, Sean is active in the field of psychedelic therapy. As lead facilitator of this training, he brings a deep, reflective presence and holds the arc of theory, ethics, and nature-based practice.
Claire Dunn
(co-facilitating Nov 2025)
Claire is a writer, rewilding facilitator, and founder of Nature’s Apprentice. She trained in Transpersonal Counselling and wilderness rites-of-passage, and has guided programmes in deep ecology, ancestral skills, and nature immersion for over 15 years. Claire is the author of My Year Without Matches and Rewilding the Urban Soul. She brings a strong gift for group facilitation, story, and ceremony in nature.
CAROLINE DALE
(co-facilitating Mar 2026)
Caroline is a registered clinical psychologist with a focus on grief, trauma, and neurodivergence. Her therapeutic work is rooted in deep listening and ecological belonging. She contributes to psychedelic research at St Vincent’s and the University of Sydney, and facilitates integration groups internationally. Caroline brings warmth, rigour, and a deep love for nature-based process.
SARAH PANT
(Upcoming co-facilitator)
Sarah is a clinical psychotherapist with two decades’ experience in mental health, including wilderness therapy and trauma work. She draws on somatics, creative arts, and process-oriented approaches. Sarah is a core therapist and trainer with the Monash Psychedelic Lab, contributing to MDMA and psilocybin trials. Her work centres connection—between self, community, altered states, and the living world.
🎥 Hear More About the Training
In this 20-minute recording from a past Info Night, Sean walks through the structure, spirit, and intention behind the Eco-Psychotherapy Training.
Please note: date references in the video are from a previous intake.
💬 What Past Participants Say
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“This was not only one of the most amazing trainings I have ever done, it was also one of the best life experiences I have ever had. Life enhancing and transformative.”
— Diana Horrex, Psychologist & Academic
“Sublime! Comprehensive in theory and detailed in practicality. At the end of the week, conducting therapy inside four walls seems almost ludicrous!”
— Charlotte, Hakomi Therapist
“The 7-Day Introduction to Eco-Psychotherapy Training with WildMind was truly transformative… a truly enriching and unforgettable experience.”
— Monique Pangari, MEd, SEP
“I signed up for this training to explore my relationship to fears of being in nature, and walked away with an embodied understanding of my place in the world. Life-changing.”
— Novi Sutanto, Counselling Psychologist
“This course asked me to dig deep, to reflect on my current practice, relationship with/to nature and community… It has been a profound experience.”
— Sarah M, Creative Arts Therapist
“This was a transformative course… a time to discover deep truths about oneself and the environment we inhabit, highly recommend.”
— Jen Thompson, Gestalt Psychotherapist
🌿 Graduate Spotlight: Life After the Training
Birdy O’Sheedy, Clinical Psychologist
Blue Mountains, NSW
“My journey as a clinical psychologist practicing eco-psychotherapy, since training with the Wild Mind Institute…
Well, let me tell you—it has been the most magical and beautiful journey I could have hoped for!
After training with Sean, my practice radically changed. I’m now working from a 5-acre bush property in the Blue Mountains. My ‘office’ is a log cabin or a bonfire circle, depending on the weather. My receptionist is my dog Pax—and on his days off, one of the local magpies fills in.
Eco-psychotherapy has made gold standard Medicare-approved therapies more fun and more efficient. It’s helped me become a much better therapist, more resilient, more playful, and more creative—even with a heavily traumatised client base.
I’m the happiest I’ve been, and this work has opened doors to educate, present, and share my passion with therapists around the world.”
📅 Program Overview
This six-week training blends online learning, live Zoom gatherings, and an immersive retreat. It is designed for mental health professionals seeking to integrate eco-therapy principles into their clinical practice. You’ll engage with foundational theory, embodied practices, and direct nature-based facilitation—all within a supportive and collaborative peer group.
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📆 Program Dates: October 21 – December 2, 2025
🌲 Retreat Intensive: November 22–28 (at Baanya Byami, Victoria)
💰 Cost: $3,960 AUD (incl. GST)
👥 Group size: Max 18 participants
🏕 Accommodation:
We encourage participants to camp onsite, with access to hot showers and shared facilities. You’re welcome to bring your own tent or van, or we can provide a tent and stretcher for a small additional fee. If you have accessibility needs or health concerns, a limited number of indoor rooms are available (for a fee)—please let us know in your application or call.
🥗 Catering:
The retreat is fully catered with nourishing meals, prepared onsite. We can accommodate most dietary requirements and will send out a form in the months before the retreat.
🚐 Getting There:
Baanya Biami is located in Central Victoria, approximately 90 minutes from Melbourne. We’re here to ensure that getting to and from the venue is smooth and stress-free—don’t worry, we’ve got you.
Closer to the retreat, we’ll assist participants with:
• Airport or train station pickups (e.g. Melbourne Airport or Southern Cross)
• Carpool coordination with other participants
• Clear directions and support to help you arrive with ease
🧭 Training Curriculum:
A Journey Through the Landscape of Eco-Psychotherapy.
This immersive program unfolds in six core modules, guiding participants from embodied experience in nature to applied clinical practice:
Part I – Being in Nature: Settling the body, awakening the senses, and deepening presence in the natural world.
Part II – Being With Nature: Attuning to place, story, and the relational field. Exploring the mirror of nature and the human psyche.
Part III – Engaging With Nature: Practices of dialogue, ritual, making and reciprocity. Cultivating therapeutic conversation with the more-than-human.
Part IV – Nature as Therapeutic Ally: Tracking how nature becomes a co-participant in the therapeutic process.
Part V – Nature-Based Interventions: Introducing practical tools, practices, process, structures, and ethical considerations for incorporating nature into clinical work.
Part VI – Eco-Psychotherapy in Practice: Weaving it all together. Supervised role-plays, process work, and pathways to integration in your own practice.
Read More About the Field on our Blog:
💫 Ready to Join Us?
Here’s how to take the next step:
Watch the info session video (above) to get a feel for the training
Fill out a short application form — this helps us build a strong, diverse group
Book a 25-minute Zoom “discovery” call with Sean
Confirm your place and get ready for the journey
“Other therapies seek to heal the alienation between person and person, person and family, person and society. Eco-psychology seeks to heal the more fundamental alienation between the person and the natural environment.”
Payment Options & Cancellation Policy
Cost: $3960 (Includes GST)
A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your spot
Full Payment are due by September 8th
Alternatively, a “Pay in 3” monthly instalment plan available
If We Cancel: If we cancel the retreat for any reason, you will receive a 100% refund.
If You Cancel:
• More than 3 months before the training: 100% refund
• More than 2 months before the training: 70% refund
• More than 1 month before the training: 50% refund
• Less than 1 month before the training: No refund
If you have questions about payment plans or cancellations, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
How to Apply?
Applications are considered on an individual basis. A minimum requirement is that you have trained in mental health (counselling, art-therapy, psychotherapy or similar), and have experience in working with clients individually. If you are interested in participating in an upcoming training, please apply or get in touch.