Lived Experience of Individuals with Depression Undergoing Ecotherapy

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21274166

Pourabi Chaudhury¹ and Deepshikha Ray² (Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata, West Bengal¹ and Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal²)

Ecotherapy refers to an umbrella term that focusses on re-establishing a connection between nature and humans that promotes mutual fostering, thereby leading to universal development and in turn, enhanced mental and physical health (Clinebell, 1996). Numerous researches in this area have employed quantitative methods to evaluate effectiveness (Keenan et al., 2021; Müller et al., 2025, etc.) however there is a scarcity of research where qualitative methods are implemented (Delaney & Malkinski, 2023, etc.). The current study concentrates on exploring the subjective experiences of individuals suffering from mild to moderate depression who have undergone ecotherapy based on a newly developed “Ecotherapy Module for Mild to Moderate Depression” (EM-MMD). In-depth interview was conducted on nine participants who completed 12 sessions of a newly developed ecotherapy module (EM-MMD) and the data were then transcribed and analysed with the qualitative method of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings revealed the presence of three major themes, viz. appreciating connectivity with nature, appreciating the relationship with fellow group members and growing as a person. The current study indicated that the newly developed EM-MMD was an effective method for enhancing participants’ nature association, formation of social connections with fellow group members in harmony with nature and self-transformation leading to improved functioning, confirming the notion that nature-assisted interventions have the potential for improving mental health.