Description
Book SynopsisIn a time of apparent global crisis, ecopsychology is a rapidly emerging new field that attracts those concerned with the state of the planet and psychotherapists wanting to bring nature more fully into their practise. Exploring both ecology and psychotherapy from a systemic perspective, Nature in Mind steps beyond our current Darwinian paradigm in search our deep psychological relationships with nature and what stories nature can tell us about healthy psychological development. Drawing on ideas from systemic practice, contemporary neuroscience, and the narratives that have sustained the relationship between our indigenous ancestors and the earth for millennia, Nature in Mind explores the integration of nature and the human psyche and suggests ideas and practises that might help us remember our lost eco psychological heritage.
Trade Review"In this remarkable book Roger Duncan presents a merging of his life experiences teaching adolescents, vision-questing, and practicing psychotherapy together with theories ranging from language studies, Rudolf Steiner´s educational ideas, and indigenous holism. In the process, he gives us a glimpse of the relationship between human psychological development and nature--and offers a means toward healing ourselves and our deteriorating world." --Chellis Glendinning, author of My Name Is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization
"For the past 25 years I have been engaged in the study and teaching of ecopsychology, mostly in the United States. During this time there have been few books to support the growth of this field or my own ideas, as well as a lack of current literature to pass on to my students to increase their awareness of the relationship between humans and the rest of nature. Every once in while a new person comes along and attempts to fill the gap – some have achieved this and some have not. Roger Duncan’s book however, goes a long way towards accomplishing this goal with Nature in Mind. What he has done is provide a good deal of the essential ecological aspects of ecopsychology that is sorely lacking in the literature that is out there. Indeed, making connections with what young troubled youth need in order to heal with how plants grow is both revolutionary and ecopsychological. This book therefore marks a milestone in the field, with Duncan’s eloquent and evocative descriptions of how we can treat (and teach) our most troubled children through engaging them in them nature based practices. It is my hope that those professionals who are engaged in various youth treatment programs will take heed and use the valuable information in this book. In doing so, we may well give birth to a new generation of adults that can heal a whole lot more than their own traumas, by bridging the gaping chasm between all that is out there and all that is in here." --Lorraine M. Fish, Ph.D.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
About the author
Introduction
Chapter 1
Our indigenous heritage
Chapter 2
The wilderness experience
Chapter 3
Mind and nature revisited
Chapter 4
Into the woods
Chapter 5
Maps and territories
Chapter 6
Soul encounter beyond the borders of language
Chapter 7
Patterns of systemic relationships in nature
Chapter 8
Reimagining human development
Epilogue
References
Index
