Shepard's developmental ecopsychology

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Paul Shepard · 1982

What it is

Shepard's developmental ecopsychology is a theory, not a therapy. Shepard (1925–1996), a biologist and human ecologist who taught at Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate University, argued that human psychological development evolved in long interaction with the natural world, and that contact…

Format

• Using the framework in therapy. No source gives session counts, a session format or criteria for moving between phases. A workable structure for a therapist integrating the ideas into an existing therapy:
• Phase B, re-engagement: graded, client-chosen contact with place, other species and seasons, between or within sessions, and reflective work on attachment, place, body and control. Move on when the client reports a felt relationship with at least one place or practice and can link it to the…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Core idea of change, as attributed to Shepard: the developmental needs are still present and recoverable. The book's publisher quotes the line "There is a secret person undamaged in every individual" and describes the book as proposing ways to "repair broken bonds with the earth, our past, and…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• imposing an ecological worldview; conflict with the client's faith. Working when the client holds more nuance.
• the therapist designing it; borrowed ceremonies; unsafe locations. Working when the client experiences it as their own.
• using the stage as a judgement; spiritual concepts the client does not share. Working when the map helps the client name next steps.
• grandiose expectations; pressure from others to attend; undisclosed risk. Working when the client goes with realistic hopes and a plan.
• using places to avoid people; a refuge that was also a site of harm. Working when the client can draw on a steadying place and on people.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.