Psychotherapist brings outdoor therapy to Dartmoor

A psychotherapist is relocating to West Devon to offer a form of therapy that takes place entirely outdoors, using Dartmoor’s wild landscape as a central part of the process.

Beth Livingston, 54, will move from a village near Taunton to Tavistock in early June, where she plans to establish a clinical practice focused on ecopsychotherapy, a lesser-known form of therapy conducted in nature rather than in a consulting room.

“In a typical session I would spend an hour outdoors with a client,” Beth said.

“Sometimes we might sit still for that time and other sessions might involve walking further. The relationship with the landscape can also form the crucible in which the work of therapeutic healing can happen.”

Her decision to move comes after years of working with clients in nature. 

Trained at the Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling, Beth holds a Diploma and MA in Integrative Humanistic Psychotherapy and is a registered UKCP psychotherapist. 

She also studied a specialist module in Working with the Ecological Self, and has been supervised by leading ecopsychotherapists including Mary-Jane Rust.

She says Dartmoor’s landscape offers more than aesthetic value, it can play an active role in healing. 

“For some clients, the solidity and strength of the tors might offer a sense of dependable safety,” she said. 

“Others might find the open moor resonant of the frightening void they feel, and notice that in a deep, wooded valley they can experience a sense of the landscape holding them.”

Beth anticipates some initial hesitation from potential clients. 

“Most people imagine therapy to be restricted to a room,” she said. 

“And aren't aware of the possibility of therapy in the landscape.”

Still, she believes the need is there, particularly for those who feel confined in traditional therapy settings, or disconnected from the world around them. 

“Outdoor therapy explicitly includes an interaction and relationship with the natural world. This relationship can support a strengthening of self-structure and a deepening sense of groundedness and security.”

Beth will work with adults of all backgrounds and also offer supervision for other practitioners. 

She sees her approach as an opportunity for clients to connect the inner and outer world.

“Psychotherapy outdoors can offer an opportunity to explore one's inner world whilst being vitally connected in relationship to the outer world,” she said. 

“It can also be a creative, positive process of deepening self-knowledge and understanding more fully why you are living your life as you are.”