In this conversation, Joy sits down with eco-therapists Jenny Biglands and Vicky Broadbent to explore the growing field of ecotherapy, where nature itself becomes a partner in the healing process.
Jenny and Vicky reflect on their faith journeys, what led them into therapeutic work, and how moving outdoors has transformed their practice. They explore themes of power and vulnerability, showing how simply walking side by side or sitting beneath a tree can open new pathways to presence and change. And they wonder whether reconnecting with the natural world might help us face climate grief with courage, creativity, and love.
After the conversation, Nomad hosts Anna Robinson and Joy Brooks reflect on the blurred lines between therapy, spirituality and nature connection, the importance of finding safety and edges in outdoor spaces, and how Celtic rhythms and seasonal rituals can root us more deeply in our own places.
Conversation starts at 16m 8s
Want to go deeper? Jenny and Vicky are running Exploring the Sacred in Nature — a one-day retreat on 15 November in Shipley, West Yorkshire, UK. It’s a chance to slow down, explore your relationship with nature and the sacred, and discover new ways of living well. Book your place here and spend a day reconnecting with the wild within.
This episode was recorded at the beautiful Cow Close Farm in Derbyshire, UK. If you’d like to stay in one of their holiday cottages and experience the same stunning surroundings, they’re offering Nomad listeners 15% off with the code nomad15. Find out more here.
WEBSITES
BOOKS MENTIONED
Coming Back to Life – Joanna Macy
World as Lover, World as Self – Joanna Macy
Widening Circles: A Memoir – Joanna Macy
Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age – Joanna Macy
Life After Doom – Brian McLaren
Soil Soul Society – Satish Kumar
Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature – Jon Young
Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
QUOTES
“Nature offers… soft fascination… the movement of the trees… that kind of irregular soft movement, actually really helps our bodies to regulate.” – Jenny Biglands
“The wider systems in nature become part of the [therapeutic] process, in whatever way that happens…Our relationship with something bigger than the room and with ourselves becomes part of the process.” – Vicky Broadbent