My academic research is primarily focused on how nature affects the self. Most recently, for example, I conducted a worldwide study interviewing people with exceptional experiences of spending long periods alone in nature.

My research has led me to examine how cultivating the capacity to be alone in nature is an important pathway in the maturation of the self.

I regularly give lectures and workshops for academic institutions and other organisations on this subject, including TedX, the London School of Economics, the Insititute for Arts in Therapy and Education, UK, and Thomas Jefferson University, US,.

Topics I cover include:

• How being alone in nature affects the self

• The role of sensory perception in the psychology of the self

• The relationship between aesthetic experience and mental health

• Using the human-nature relationship as part of the psychotherapeutic process

UPCOMING EVENTS:

DRAWING NATURE IN: Integrating nature into your practice. 25-27 April 2025

https://artgym.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Drawing-Nature-In.pdf