Carolyn Ralph, BA, BSW, MSW, RSW
Social worker/Psychotherapist
If you are here, we may share a strong pull for something different. I need to be outside more often. I know this. We all spend so much time inside. Meeting in an office has its benefits (especially when the weather is harsh) but being in the forest or the gardens is a profoundly healing experience. The birdsong stimulates the vagus nerve, activating a parasympathetic response, creating a felt sense of safety in the body, the feeling of air on the skin, and the scent of the earth, trees, and flowers bringing us home to our true inner nature. The visual array of colors and shapes calms the nervous system and elicits such joyfulness at the same time. There is so much research that attests to the healing qualities of being in nature. It just makes sense to include walking in nature to support your mental health and emotional wellness. If this sounds like truth to you, if you can see yourself here, if you feel curious about exploring therapy in nature, let’s connect.
My Story
Working and volunteering in community and human services for almost 20 years, I am a registered social worker/psychotherapist, licensed to practice with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. I am primarily interested in psycho-spiritual, nature-based, humanist, and relational psychotherapy; mindfulness; sound therapy, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
My desire to work in mental health has been an organic progression that started from developing an awareness of the healing potential in my own experiences as a survivor of trauma and chronic disease and being committed to a path of personal integration and reconnection. On that path, I became fascinated with how our current understanding of quantum theories connects to ancient spiritual beliefs and practices. I am driven by my curiosity about who we are and why we are here. I like to say that “I am here because you are here”. The search for the connection between science and spirituality continues to meet my need to find meaning in our experiences of being here, together.
With that in mind, my attraction to human services and mental health is the result of a desire to support others on this journey and to seed the social landscape with the most powerful tool for healing and evolution that we have – LOVE.
Nature-Based Therapy
Breathing in Trees Counselling was born of a connection to trees that started when I was in grade 4. While sitting in a tree grove during a school trip, I experienced a deep state of connection that was transformational. Since that time, I worked summers as a tree planter and was co-founder of an organization called We Learn Naturally (www.welearnnaturally.com) which created nature-based programs for children, adults, and families. In my practice as a psychotherapist, I use trees and nature for grounding, to release excess energy and balance my system. In fact, you can often find me in the forest playing my pennywhistle for the trees (it’s also a great tool for exercising the diaphragmatic muscle and regulating the flight/ fight response by encouraging focused breathing!)
The Outdoor Therapy Model
Using the beautiful resources offered by The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington, we can meet at Cherry Hill trailhead, The Grindstone Marsh, Laking Gardens, Hendrie Gardens (The Rose Garden), the Rock Garden or the Arboretum. You can choose your preferred experience and comfort level – whether it is a hike on the trails or a walk in the garden. There are many spots along the trails and throughout the gardens to rest and talk.
Parking and entry into the gardens are covered in the cost of the therapy session.
We can also choose to meet at Lasalle Park, Spencer Smith Park, or Kerncliff Park trails in Burlington, or Bayfront Park, Pier 8 or Churchill Park Trails near McMaster University in Hamilton. If there is a trail that you enjoy, we can plan to meet there as well!
On days where there is inclement weather, when the days get dark, or when we just want to sit inside and share a pot of tea, we can meet in my cozy office inside The Fitness Firm at 15 Plains Rd. It’s located just 3 minutes down the road from the RBG. I also meet many of my clients virtually or via phone sessions, where we often walk and talk remotely.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The lands I am privileged to live and work upon are located within the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe nations covered under the Between the Lakes Treaty, No. 3 (1792) and protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement. This agreement was one in which the lands were to be shared and resourced with respect to the health of both the ecosystems and the people. Because I live on the border of two cities, I also live and practice on the ancestral, treaty and title lands of the Ojibwe and the Michizaagiig Nation, now known as the Mississaugas of the Credit. I recognize and appreciate the original peoples' continued stewardship and advocacy for the protection of our more-than-human world. I am so thankful for the story keepers who have protected a worldview that recognizes the more-than-human world as kin. I am committed to the continued acknowledgement and awareness of the trauma and genocide that occured here as well as acting in every way possible, to the best of my ability and awareness, to honor these First Nations, accept responsibility for my own and my ancestors complicity in this ongoing conquest, and make every effort to learn more, understand greater, and do better at contributing to the creation of a right and reparative relationship with this place and it’s indigenous people and all those oppressed by white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy.