Nature Council
At a time when many are struggling with overwhelm, anxiety, grief, depression, identity issues, or plain disenchantment, I open a space of caring, connection, and reflection, that centers both your innate, embodied knowing and the generous, ever-present wisdom of the land.
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While walking or sitting, immersed in natural landscape, we will creatively address what currently challenges you or asks for meaningful attention, aiming to reinvigorate a sense of clarity, spaciousness and direction. Simultaneously, we will explore and build upon your particular kinship with the living land to cultivate a restorative relationship of heartfelt connection and reciprocity.
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Together, we may engage in contemplative practices such as:
Body Mapping,
Patterns Tracking,
Reflective Orienteering,
Earthly Amplification,
Constellation Work,
EarthWombing,
Nature Art,
and much more.
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The natural world will serve as an essential relationship to glean insight from and lean into, while being a dynamic link toward further support and integration. We will look for appropriate ways to reciprocate, and gift life and beauty in return.
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Depending on season and mood, we may make a little fire, set up tarp for sheltering from the elements (i.e. sun, rain, snow, wind), brew a fresh cup of needle tea, munch on medicinal plants, follow animal tracks, and engage in any other wilderness skills if so desired.
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Most walks take place on the east side of town. A quiet neighborhood park in that same area offers the ideal setting for anyone who needs to have a seated or less physically active Council.
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-- While inherently very therapeutic, Nature Council is technically not clinical therapy since I am not a licensed therapist (yet).
If I feel unable to support in the way that is required or desired, I will let you know early on and will help with finding the appropriate resources.
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-- Sessions tend to be astoundingly illuminating and powerful, providing a lot of insight and deep healing - through clear imagery and viscerally felt experiences. This Nature Council work resonates with Bert Hellinger's Family Constellation Therapy and Franz Ruppert's Intention Method. However, here, we also open into the surrounding outdoor Field that inevitably includes the agency and aliveness of plants, trees, rocks, and even animal tracks. Their willingness and generosity to support your inquiry and reveal hidden aspects affords the process with a moving and unparalleled richness.
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For whom
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The Nature Council approach will especially resonate when you're someone who has a curiosity and appetite for wild flavors, such as rain on your face, bare feet in the soil, and trusting of your own intuition.
If you are seeking a unique kind of accompaniment (different than talk therapy for instance) during a particular passage - or portal, Nature Council will support you in exploring the inner and outer terrains of your becoming.
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Both individual youth and adults, as well as any size group, such as a family, intimate partners, a few friends, or a team of colleagues, are welcome.
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What I Offer
I provide 90 to 120 minutes' sessions in the outdoors, and offer both stand-alone as well as regular support over a longer time.
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I center your inner knowing and nudge forth insights and next steps through a process of careful listening, mutual reflection, embodied experiencing in the moment, and a highly attuned
inter-being within the wider-than-human Field.
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I open a space of simultaneous attention and alertness to the movements and qualities in the surrounding natural world, welcoming many more supportive voices into the Council.
-- It is truly the wide responsiveness of the natural Field, In-Each-Moment, such as demanding Raven croaks at a peculiar moment in the conversation, a Grandma Ponderosa Pine offering herself to bring solace, deer tracks in the snow requesting to be followed, or the sap of a Juniper instructing of a healing approach, which makes these sessions so alive, impressive, and effective.
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Having a strong foundation in both mental health awareness as well as nature connection, I bring creative practices for soulful discovery as well as wellbeing, including an ever-deepening relationship of reciprocity within the natural world.
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I am comfortable with ritual and ceremony, by client request.
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Payment
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I charge $95 per hour.
It is at your discretion to decide how much to pay me after a session, considering my hourly rate, your financial situation, and the amount of time we ultimately do spend together.
-- This particular payment system can also be interpreted as a sliding scale from $125 to $210 per session (usually about 2 hours long).
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To be paid by cash, check, PayPal, or Venmo.
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I provide a free, initial 15-minute phone conversation before a first meeting in-person.
Experience and Schooling
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~ seven years at the Santa Fe Sky Center/NM Suicide Intervention Project,
as Natural Helpers’ Coordinator, member of the Postvention Crisis team, intern family therapist - under supervision, mentor in group facilitation to graduate students, and trainer in topics ranging from self-harm and suicide awareness, to mindfulness and self-care;
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~ more than three decades of teaching and guiding
in the fields of outdoor adventure education and nature connection;
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~ Master's degree in Experiential Education:
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~ training as a Family Trauma Constellation Facilitator;
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~ my own ongoing cultivation of personal development, as well as internal arts practices (meditation, qigong, elemental listening);
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- two decades as a parent, of two young adults currently aged 20 and 23.
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- pursuing a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling as of June of 2024.
Testimonials
I had an amazing, powerful session with Griet. I truly felt seen and guided as we explored the inner and outer realms. Her deep wisdom and intuition about the natural world and the human psyche made our time together rich, revelatory, and joyful. I'm so grateful to have her in our community and can't wait to work with her again!
Laura, 33 yrs
With her gentle wisdom and insightful reflections, Griet helped me to come home to myself again.
Jaden, 23 yrs
After every session with Griet, our son came home more grounded and clear. He felt validated and uplifted, which helped him to emerge from a scary tunnel of overwhelm and anxiety. We are very grateful for Griet's sincere care for our kid!
Suzy, mother of a teenage son
Grietje gives counsel with such attuned presence, such deep respect, and such honest desire to understand and uplift another. She holds space for whatever the person, the soul is needing, and meets you there with total acceptance, exuberance and curiosity. Her influence is both fiercely honest and gently loving, calling on one’s own inner knowing and the greater wisdom in the field to guide the way. Anyone who is able to work with her will be greatly gifted and leave changed.
Heather, 38 yrs