Wild at Heart - Queensland, Australia 28th July - 6th August 2025
Mindful Somatic Ecotherapy Program for Professionals
Join us as we escape the chill of winter and embark on an adventurous journey learning to guide and facilitate therapeutic healing and personal growth amidst the vibrant beauty of the Queensland Hinterland for 11 days filled with fun and immersive experiences.
Empowering Therapists Through Nature
The Mindful Somatic Ecotherapy Program for Professionals is designed to enrich the therapeutic experience by weaving together nature-based practices, somatic awareness, and acceptance. This innovative program journeys through the four therapeutic phases and empowers therapists to guide clients through healing journeys in alignment with the wisdom of the natural world.
By blending mindfulness, somatic awareness, nonviolent communication, and ecotherapy, therapists can offer a holistic approach that fosters deep connection and personal growth. Participants will learn to trust and be confident in the therapeutic potential of outdoor settings, creating a nurturing environment for transformation and healing.
Comprehensive Training Outline
Program Overview
Module One – Basecamp/Creating Alliance and Trust
Every journey starts at base camp, where we prepare by exploring intentions, fostering trust, connection, and safety with our clients and nature.
This module combines the principles of nonviolent communication with gentle ecotherapeutic and mindful somatic practices to:
- Create trusting connections with our clients
- Develop the trust to be aware of and allowing of emotional experiences and sensations
- Trust in support of the natural world.
The potential for wholeness and healing in an ecotherapeutic journey relies explicitly on the presence, connection, and trust cultivated in base camp.
Module Two – Foothills/Resourcing
It is in the foothills where we forage mindfully for the essential survival skills both within our client, ourselves, and the natural world. These survival skills/resources are essential to navigate unknown territory safely and confidently.
This module shares the skills:
- To track and bring into awareness of mind and body, our client’s existing, wise self-regulating and survival strategies,
- To invite and embody new and robust regulating strategies
- To discover, support, and embody the naturally soothing and regulating gifts our bodies know how to receive when in nature.
The capacity to track and gently blow on the embers of our clients innate capacity for resilience and growth forms yet another bedrock for safety and responsible guiding.
Module Three – The Wilderness/Processing
The previous two modules now support the therapist/guide in alliance with nature to skillfully accompany and navigate and guide in the wilderness of their client’s threshold experience, with insight, care, trust, and safety.
In this module, participants craft the skills to:
- Create and accompany a mindful crossing of the boundary between basecamp and the wilderness/processing threshold.
- Mindfully observe and contact their client’s impulses, urges, feelings, and needs.
- Invite in naturally occurring spontaneous nature events and mystery as resources and deepening experiences.
- To gently accompany the client with support of the natural world and connection to their body, to allow the depths of the waters to arise, unfold, and reveal the hidden gems buried deep within.
Module Four
The Return/Integration
The Return! So often we return from threshold experiences/life-changing events with a delight and or anticipation to be met, to have our insights and learnings heard, and to be supported in making meaning and discovery from our journey. We can often be disappointed to find that our tribe didn’t notice we even left, or that they are having so many challenges themselves that listening deeply to our experience is beyond them.
Our role in guiding clients back to Basecamp is to provide the experience of deep listening, reflection, to support life serving meaning and growth and to honour their journey and the courage it took to undertake it. This module supports the skills to:
- Deeply listen
- Accurately Reflect
- Validate and acknowledge
- Support meaning making and life-changing growth.
Personal Healing/Wholing and Growth
Included as part of the program is an invitation every few days to take a mini journey in each of the four sheilds for personal exploration, healing, wholing and growth.
This aspect of the program is offered in the tradition of the three phases of Rites of Passage. The separation, the threshold experience, and the return. The participants will have the opportunity to explore alongside each direction the territory of: “The Child” The Adolescent” The Adult, and The Elder. On the final evening, the direction of the East, there will be the invitation to delight in a nights solo and fast on the land. Please note this is purely optional, and there will be an abundance of support to prepare and assess your readiness for this invitation. And, if you choose not to spend the night out on your own, you may still participate in the experience of exploring the East direction within the security and comfort of your accommodation.
Items to bring for this night are included in the “What to Bring” list below.
Sacred Healing Waters Retreat Venue
Nestled amidst Atherton Tablelands 2 Hours from Cairns and 7 kms from the renowned Innot Hot Springs, Sacred Healing Waters Sancturary resides on the banks of the beautiful Wild River set in 60 acres of biodynamic land.
Twin share accommodation or camping, hot showers, composting toilets, a covered kitchen and dining area and an incredible geodesic dome form the facilitates of the venue.
Program Inclusions
- Plant based gluten free lunch and dinner
- Camping accommodation or for an addition fee, shared twin accommodation.
- Comprehensive Training Manual
- One, One-on-One Ecotherapy Session
- Group Workshops and Discussions
- Certificate of Completion
- Personalized Feedback and Support
- Networking Opportunities with Peers
- Four Online Post-Program Group Follow up and Integration.
- Expert-Led Training
- Practical Ecotherapy Experiences
- The Opportunity to begin the process of Somatic Ecotherapy Certification
What to Bring
Comfortable Outdoor Clothing
Sturdy Walking Shoes
Water Bottle
Notebook and Pen
Weather-Appropriate Gear
Personal Snacks
An Two Item from the Natural world, one that represents your professional intention and one that represents your personal intention.
Sunscreen and Hat
Insect Repellent
Yoga Mat or Blanket
Personal Identification
Any Required Medications
Swimming suit and towel
A small blanket to wear at night around the fire.
Reusable Bag for Materials
Camera or Smartphone for Photos
Positive Attitude
Reading Glasses if Needed
Portable Chair or Cushion
Any musicial intruments
Two 1.8mx 1.8m tarpaulins and at least 4m of rope, a camp mattress and sleeping bag. These items are if you imagine participanting in the final night, overnight solo.
What Our Participants Say
“I am Lea, a French nomadic traveler who is following my heart and my willingness to grow and collecting tools and precious wisdom along my journey. A meeting with a former participant led me to take a deep interest in this program. I am guiding people through yoga classes, massage and Reiki experiences. But I aspired to find a form of therapy that would help the person to be able to put words on their experiences and a way to dive in their emotions and support them in the process.
On a more personal level, I’m looking to develop a deeper bond and relationship with nature and find spaces where I can express myself, my vision and my sensitivity to the world. To be able to explore and experiment new ways of interacting with living things and my surroundings.
This immersive program of Ecotherapy gave me the container to meet my needs for connection, spaciousness, openness, creativity, guidance, curiosity and practice. And so much more. I definitely recommend this program to anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the interactions between ourselves and nature who can support us at anytime to explore our personal journey as well as guiding and holding the space as a Therapist.
It’s a program that has allowed me to redefine the codes of therapy and opened up new horizons by practicing outdoors. It was an opportunity to interact even more with everything around me, which gives me a reflection of what was going on inside of me at so many different levels, shapes, forms, sounds and colors.
Lea Gressier
“I came to the course looking for new ways of healing after having worked as a doctor in medicine for many years and becoming frustrated with the western approach. From my observations I could see that most peoples symptoms related to an unmet need in one way or another and the disconnect between mind, body and spirit. I first experienced eco therapy spontaneously from my partner when I had a challenging memory come up. From his experience with sessions with Toni, he was able to guide me through the eco therapy process, including being with my sensations, feeling them, connecting with nature and how to let go. This was a profound experience for me and showed me how much healing can take place in 1 session, without the need for years of therapy. When I later met Toni to hear about this course, I immediately knew it was something I wanted to do and I’m so glad I did. Toni has a wealth of wisdom to share, with so much curiosity and experience. She has an incredible ability to create a safe, open, loving and often very witty space. This wasn’t just a course to learn how to help others, it was a deep dive into my own being, releasing old trauma and patterns to come out into the new. This was a transformational experience to bring me into my true authentic self and thus giving me more confidence to walk with others and assist in their transformation also. I am deeply grateful and would 100% recommend to anyone!
Michaela Jones
“I came across Toni’s Eco Therapy program having very little knowledge of the concept and no experience in this line of work (Carpenter by trade). From the first phone call we shared to discuss the course content i was impressed with Toni’s enthusiasm for Eco-Therapy. I was particularly impressed with the way she has drawn on age old wisdom and woven it in with modern practices to provide an industry leading method for providing therapy. Toni and her assistants held the space beautifully and all participants felt safe to explore the new teachings in an open and vulnerable way. I came to the program hoping to learn some new skills to help support people in nature and i feel I’ve left with not only those skills in spades, but also a blueprint for myself in how to live in a more connected way with nature. Her teaching methods were very intuitive and it did not matter that i had no professional experience in the field. We had so much fun along the way with a beautiful venue and amazing catering. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is looking to learn a wide range of ways to better understand and support people regardless of their professional intentions. These are skills we should all know!!! I’m so grateful to Toni and her amazing assistants for their patience, support and loving energies. Fond memories!!”
Brendan Smith
Meet the Team
Facilitator: Toni McErlane, B.Sc Counselling, Ecotherapist, Rite of Passage Guide, Mediator, Nonviolent Communication Facilitator.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT TONI
Assistant Facilitator: Holly Bracknall, Somatic Ecotherapist, Rite of Passage Guide, Mental Health Support Worker.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT HOLLY
Program Financial Investment
Camping with your own tent and
Early Bird for Payments before May 20th:
$2885 AU or $3085 AU if paid after that date.
Shared bunk accommodation, bring your bedding for Earlybird payments made before May 20th:
$3350 AU or $3330 AU if paid after that date.
There is one Queen bed available in a cabin for an extra $25/night each person.
Direct Deposit
Account Name:
Restorative Relationships
Account Number:
01 0322 0212196 01
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Shared Bunk Cabin
Queen Cabin