Wild Therapy -a TAP talk by Kalamani

In February we were lucky enough to hear Kamalamani, a therapist, supervisor, facilitator and writer from Bristol give a presentation for TAP entitled ‘Wild Therapy’. 

Kamalamani began by saying that Wild Therapy entails some meditating sessions outdoors so bringing the wild into the therapy room. The Buddha was very much connected to the earth and it is this connectedness that is being recognised and respected here. The going from outside to inside correlates with going from the unknown to the known.

The therapy developed from the work of Nick Cotton, encompasses Embodied-Relational Therapy, Process Oriented Psychology and Eco-psychology very much in the Daoist tradition.

For group work it is usual to choose a remote wild location where there is ample opportunity for reflection and for strengthening the sense of community. Relaxation with no expectation is also an important prerequisite. All this is with the aim of realising our interdependence and to celebrate our embodiment so transforming our fears.

A pause in the presentation gave the audience an opportunity to reflect with their neighbours upon a personal event where this sense of peace, connectedness, new understanding, had been experienced.

What people generally relate after sessions is a loosening of their human identity and making contact with what we are and who we are. The words of C G Jung seem very apposite, ‘Whenever we touch nature, we get clean’.

The talk was well attended by an enthusiastic audience and the vote of thanks by Ian Stevenson concluded with a spontaneous round of applause.

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