thumb|Placement of clinical ecopsychology between clinical psychology and ecopsychology

Ecopsychology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field that focuses on the synthesis of ecology and psychology and the promotion of sustainability. Instead of examining personal pain solely in the context of individual or family pathology, it is analyzed in its wider connection to the more-than-human world. A central premise is that while the mind is shaped by the modern world, its underlying structure was created in a natural non-human environment. Ecopsychology seeks to expand and remedy the emotional connection between humans and nature, treating people psychologically by bringing them spiritually closer to nature.

History

Origins of ecopsychology

Sigmund Freud

In his 1929 book Civilization and Its Discontents ("Das Unbehagen in der Kultur"), Sigmund Freud discussed the basic tensions between civilization and the individual. He recognized the interconnection between the internal world of the mind and the external world of the environment, stating: He theorized that "the mind is nature, and nature, the mind," and called its study psychoecology. Greenway published his first essay on the topic at Brandeis University in 1963.

In 1969, he began teaching the subject at Sonoma State University. Roszak mentions the biophilia hypothesis of biologist E.O. Wilson; that humans have an instinct to emotionally connect with nature.

Beliefs

Roszak states that an individual's connection to nature can improve their interpersonal relationships and emotional wellbeing. An integral part of this practice is treating patients outdoors.

  • "There is a synergistic interplay between planetary and personal well-being."
  • "The core of the mind is the ecological unconscious."
  • "The goal of ecopsychology is to awaken the inherent sense of environmental reciprocity that lies within the ecological unconscious."
  • "The contents of the ecological unconscious represent ... the living record of evolution."
  • "The crucial stage of development is the life of the child."
  • "The ecological ego matures toward a sense of ethical responsibility with the planet."
  • "Whatever contributes to small scale social forms and personal empowerment nourish the ecological ego."

See also

  • Conservation psychology
  • Eco-anxiety
  • Ecological grief
  • Ecospirituality
  • Environmental psychology
  • Exercise prescription
  • Nature connectedness

References

Further reading

  • M. Day. "Ecopsychology and the Restoration of Home". 1998. The Humanistic Psychologist. Vol. 26. Issue 1-3.
  • T. Roszak. The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology. 1993 Touchstone, New York.
  • T. Roszak, M.E. Gomes, A.D. Kanner (Eds). Ecopsychology, restoring the earth healing the mind. 1995 Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.
  • Renée G. Soule, "Ecopsychology" in Nigel Young (editor) The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. 2010, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • A. Fisher. Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life. 2013 Suny Press, Albany.
  • J. Phoenix Smith, "Ecopsychology: Toward a New Story of Cultural and Racial Diversity" 2013. Journal of Ecopsychology.Vol. 5. No.4.
  • Matthew R. Jamnik, Faith Corbin, McKenna H. Grimm, and Riley Jo H. Hobbs, "Ecopsychology" in Dana S. Dunn (Ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology. 2024, Oxford University Press, Oxford. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0328
  • International Community for Ecopsychology

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