Nature-based therapy is the intentional use of natural environments—like forests, parks, water, or outdoor spaces—as part of a structured or guided process to improve health and healing.

Wilderness & Adventure Therapy: Activities like hiking, kayaking, and rock climbing are used to improve resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Mindfulness & Stress Reduction: Practices such as forest bathing, yoga, and meditation help regulate emotions and reduce anxiety.

Creative & Expressive Arts in Nature: Outdoor painting, photography, and journaling encourage self-expression and emotional processing.

Social & Community Engagement: Group-based nature experiences foster connections, improve communication, and reduce feelings of isolation.

Therapeutic Recreation: Activities like equine therapy, gardening, and adaptive sports provide structured interventions for mental and physical health.

Nature-based therapy provides a holistic approach to healing by:

Reducing symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Enhancing cognitive function, focus, and emotional regulation.

Offering a safe and non-clinical environment for recovery.

Encouraging social bonding and teamwork and reducing isolation.

“Nature-based therapy” is an umbrella term for experiences and activities in a natural setting. Working through trauma in nature can help individuals handle challenging life situations and improve their sense of well-being.

Accumulating evidence across nations provides support for the role of therapeutic nature-based recreation in addressing the particular psychological needs of individuals with PTSD. The use of nature-based recreational activities to ameliorate PTSD and co-morbid symptoms and improve well-being in individuals appears to be a viable and useful treatment option. Further research is indicated to evaluate and promote the availability of this and other programs to the millions of men and women adapting to life after a traumatic experience. This is particularly important for a clinical population who are traditionally thought to be difficult to engage in formal therapies and yet whose continued ill health is a considerable burden to the individuals, families, and communities involved.

A developing body of evidence points to the positive impact of exposure to natural environments on psychological well-being in general populations. Several reviews suggest that exposure to nature and nature-based recreation can improve attention and cognition, memory, stress and anxiety, sleep, and quality of life.

Natural environment exposure is thought to benefit well-being via several mechanisms; attention restoration theory is at the forefront. Attention restoration theory suggests that one’s environment can influence cognition and behavior regarding workload and induced fatigue. Specifically, urban environments require directed attention and increased processing of stimuli, thereby increasing cognitive load and fatigue. In contrast, natural environments require less directed attention, eliciting more putative ‘soft fascination’ than the ‘hard fascination’ that tends to occur in urban environments. This soft fascination allows involuntary attention and aids recovery from fatigue.