Forest bathing and guided forest therapy

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Amos Clifford · 1982 · Japan

What it is

Forest bathing (shinrin-yoku, 森林浴) is unhurried, sensory time spent in a forest. Nagano Prefecture's forest therapy material states that the word 森林浴 came from a 1982 Forestry Agency (林野庁) event in Agematsu, Nagano, and that in 2004 forest bathing with demonstrated effects was named 森林セラピー (forest…

Format

• Moving on within a walk: the guide moves to the next invitation when the group has had time with the current one and has had a chance to share.
• Debrief and meaning-making in the next session.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Format: a small group (or individual) walk led by a certified guide, following the ANFT Standard Sequence; ANFT describes the walks as slow and over a short distance. It stresses that walks "aren't the same as traditional hikes."
• Content: a sequence of invitations (e.g. "What's in Motion?"), with group sharing between invitations; guide training covers sequencing invitations, the language of invitation, somatic techniques for embodied awareness, expressive arts, facilitation of open group sharing, and trail choice and safety.
• The named order of the full Standard Sequence is not set out in ANFT's public guide-training description; the Chicago Botanic Garden's self-guided list opens with "Pleasures of Presence" and "What's in Motion" and closes with a sit spot and a tea ceremony. Whether this list reproduces ANFT's sequence is.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status (one line each). Kotera, Richardson and Sheffield's meta-analysis (20 studies, all in Asia or Europe) found large short-term reductions in depression, anxiety and anger, but concluded that the research needs more rigour, that long-term effects are unknown, and that shinrin-yoku is…

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 intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• 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

• ticks and stings when crouching in leaf litter or long grass. Working: absorption in small detail.
• imposing ANFT's animist framing or your own beliefs. Working: the client develops their own meaning and uses it.
• neck strain, vertigo, uneven ground while looking up; stand still first. Working: the client reports a sense of space or wonder.
• do not present a window version as equivalent in effect; no source tests it. Working: the client can use the practice where they are.
• performance anxiety ("what if I do it wrong?"), over-high expectations. Working: the client can describe the format and their own opt-outs.

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.