Ecotherapy Diploma CPD Training
Nature-Based Therapy Training in South Devon
The CPD Ecotherapy Diploma is a practical, professionally grounded in-person training for counsellors and helping professionals, who want to work safely, ethically and creatively outdoors.
Across 12 sessions and more than 80 hours of guided learning, the course explores how therapeutic work can move beyond the consulting room and into relationship with the natural world run by Ecotherapist and Tutor Simon Heath. Participants develop the skills, awareness and professional frameworks needed to practise ecotherapy responsibly and confidently.
Why Train in Ecotherapy Now?
Interest in ecotherapy and nature-based therapeutic work has grown significantly in recent years. Increasingly, both clients and practitioners are recognising the powerful role that natural environments can play in supporting psychological wellbeing.
For many therapists, working outdoors offers a different kind of therapeutic space. Walking side by side can ease pressure in the therapeutic relationship, movement can support emotional processing, and natural environments often bring metaphor, perspective and regulation into the work in ways that are difficult to replicate indoors.
At the same time, outdoor therapy is not simply a matter of moving sessions into a park or woodland. It requires careful thought around safety, ethics, accessibility, risk management and professional accountability.
Practitioners need to consider questions such as:
• How do we contract properly for outdoor work?
• What physical and emotional risks need to be assessed?
• How do we maintain boundaries and confidentiality in open environments?
• How can ecotherapy be inclusive for people with different abilities or experiences of nature?
• What does ethical, responsible outdoor practice really look like?
The Ecotherapy Diploma is designed to address these questions directly. It provides a structured and reflective framework that allows practitioners to develop outdoor practice with confidence, integrity and professional clarity.
By combining experiential learning with ethical reflection and practical skills, the course supports therapists to integrate nature into their work in ways that are thoughtful, grounded and sustainable.
The Content
The diploma covers areas including:
• Walk-and-talk therapy
• Risk assessment and outdoor contracting
• Reflective practice in nature
• Disability, accessibility and inclusion
• The influence of place on the therapeutic relationship
• Creative nature-based practice
• Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing)
• Group work outdoors
Teaching takes place across a range of outdoor environments, supported by tailored first aid training and reflective assignments that connect theory directly to practice.
The course is designed to help practitioners build an ecotherapy practice that is creative, ethical and professionally robust.
A Thoughtful Approach to Ecotherapy
This diploma is designed for counsellors and related practitioners who want to develop the knowledge, confidence and practical skills needed to work therapeutically outdoors.
Rather than simply encouraging people to "take therapy outside", the course offers a structured and reflective exploration of what safe, ethical and effective ecotherapy actually involves.
At its core is counselling in nature, particularly walk-and-talk therapy. Alongside this, the course explores wider ecotherapeutic approaches including:
• Creative work with natural materials
• Outdoor group processes
• Seasonal awareness and place-based practice
• The role of movement and environment in therapy
Participants are encouraged to reflect not only on the opportunities of outdoor practice, but also on the professional responsibilities that come with it.
Who is the Course For?
This diploma is suitable for:
• Qualified counsellors
• Therapists and psychotherapists
• Coaches and wellbeing practitioners
• Trainee counsellors with appropriate experience
Participants should have an interest in nature-based practice and outdoor therapeutic work, and be willing to engage in reflective and experiential learning.
A Creative and Grounded Diploma
Overall, this is a substantial training for practitioners who want to build an ecotherapy practice that is both inspiring and professionally sound.
The course recognises that working outdoors can open powerful therapeutic possibilities. At the same time, it requires careful thought, clear boundaries and a strong ethical foundation. Throughout the diploma, participants are encouraged to reflect on their own relationship with nature, their therapeutic presence in different environments, and the responsibilities that come with practising beyond the consulting room.
By combining experiential learning, practical guidance and reflective assignments, the course helps practitioners develop an approach to ecotherapy that is thoughtful, safe and deeply attuned to both client and environment.
The training supports practitioners to work outdoors with greater:
• clarity
• confidence
• ethical awareness
• care for both clients and themselves
Safety, Ethics and Professional Accountability
Working outdoors introduces important practical and ethical considerations.
The diploma includes focused teaching on:
• Physical and emotional risk in outdoor work
• Contracting for therapy in natural environments
• Boundaries and containment in open spaces
• Insurance and professional responsibilities
• Appropriate supervision for outdoor practice
The course also explores disability, accessibility and inclusion, inviting participants to consider how ecotherapy can be responsive to clients with differing needs and how a person’s relationship with the natural world may be shaped by trauma, disability or life experience.
An Experiential Learning Environment
This training is intentionally experiential.
Sessions take place across a variety of environments in South Devon, allowing participants to explore how different landscapes influence therapeutic presence, pacing, metaphor and connection.
Locations include parkland, coastline, woodland and moorland environments. These settings allow learners to experience directly how place can shape therapeutic process and relational depth.
Written and reflective assignments support learning throughout the course, linking practice to ethical thinking, creativity and critical reflection.
A tailored First Aid at Work element is also included, recognising the practical realities of outdoor therapeutic work.
Course Structure & Dates
The Ecotherapy Diploma runs across 12 sessions over approximately 7 months, providing more than 80 hours of guided learning.
Numbers are limited to support experiential learning.
Course fee: £1150 per person
2026 Course Dates and Locations
The course takes place across several outdoor environments and all four seasons in South Devon.
The course runs fortnightly on a Thursday
9.30am - 3.30pm
Each term contains 4 sessions
There are 3 terms
There is a 4 week break between terms
Session 1 – 28 May 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 2 – 11 June 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 3 – 25 June 2026
Dartmoor – Haytor Lower Car Park
Session 4 – 9 July 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 5 – 6 August 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 6 – 20 August 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 7 – 3 September 2026
Teignmouth Seafront & The Ness, Shaldon
Session 8 – 17 September 2026
Exeter – Northernhay Gardens
Session 9 – 15 October 2026
Dartmoor – Dartmoor Activity Centre
Session 10 – 29 October 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 11 – 12 November 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
Session 12 – 26 November 2026
Step by Step Counselling College & Bakers Park
More venue details and travel information are included in the timetable guide.
Why Step by Step Counselling Training?
We are an independent training provider offering a thoughtful, grounded approach to counselling education.
Small, supportive learning environments (maximum 13 in a group)
Teaching that integrates theory with lived experience
Clear ethical boundaries and professional standards
Emphasis on skills practice and reflective learning
Tutors who teach from real practice, not just textbooks
