Vision and Mission – Relational Ecotherapy Institute

Vision

We want to:

– introduct research-based ecotherapeutic services into official medical proposals for health support at the level of institutions and individual practices;

– educate a professional cadre of forest therapy guides and other ecotherapeutic services;

– raise environmental awareness by supporting the building of relationships between people, other species and the Planet.

We want to create a space of learning about the interrelationship between humans, other species and the environment in the context of health and well-being, with a commitment to the highest scientific and educational standards.

We treat Nature subjectively, so we do not want to teach how to use it and exploit it for our purposes, but how to build a conscious, supportive and authentic relationship with it, which benefits not only human health but also Nature itself. We represent an approach that is exchange-oriented instead of one-sidedly drawing, ecocentric instead of antropocentric, and that focuses on personal experience and involvement.

We believe that:

– creating an authentic, personal connection with Nature makes it possible to enjoy its full beneficial effects on our health and well-being;

– according to the One Health Approach, there is no human health without the health of other species and the Planet;

– healthy and living relationships are a prerequisite for well-being, happiness and satisfaction, and can be created not only with other people and communities, but also intrapersonally, interspeciesly, with places, landscapes – on different levels. Ecosystem stability depends on biodiversity, so the more diverse, supportive relationships, the greater the resources;

– personal experience of Nature’s benevolent influence and engagement in one’s own relationship with the natural environment is essential to a fuller understanding of the role played by man’s unique bond with Nature, hence the emphasis on practical activities that can be carried out in an ecological community of people and landscapes.

From personal experience begins an appetite for realising dreams, activities, local initiatives, but also bold ideas serving whole communities. Enabling and supporting such experiences is our mission. We want as many people as possible to experience a connection with Nature consciously and not be afraid to take on the challenges of protecting it integrated with caring for their own well-being.

Mission

Disseminate and implement knowledge on the impact of the natural environment on human health and strengthen the relationship between people, other species, landscapes and the Planet to promote ecosystem health and well-being in different places on Earth.

We strive to ensure that our training is always based on current scientific research and evidence-based medicine. We also care about other forms of knowledge acquisition, such as personal experience, perception and involvement of the senses, attention to feelings, emotions and intuition in the processes of working with conscious and unconscious resources.

We focus on the subjective treatment of Nature and building an authentic relationship with the environment according to the idea of mutuality and One Health Approach – of people, other species and the environment.

We believe that introducing as many people as possible to the supportive potential of Nature will help to build a healthy relationship with Nature and a genuine need to care for the environment, to nurture this relationship and to pass this knowledge on to others, including the youngest.