Photography as an Ecotherapy Tool (Four-week forum course) (with Sam Lewis)

Four weeks/20 days of working specifically with eco-therapy and photography. The course starts on 3rd August 2026 and last for four weeks.

Join Tariki Trust for a four-week delve into nature, photography and creativity! Each day you will receive an email, starting on Sunday for a Monday morning start. The idea of this and other units is that it enables you to develop a daily practice of going outdoors and connecting with your local environment. Your tasks will mostly involve taking photos. These are not intended to be technically or artistically perfect (if such a thing exists) but rather are intended to help you explore aspects of perception, framing and personal story and to look at how these might be used in ecotherapy practice with groups or individuals.

You do not need a fancy camera - a phone will do fine - but of course, if you want to experiment with using better equipment that's fine too. We usually find working in this way leads to some very interesting photography as well as personal insight.

The course will be divided into four X 5 days sections and will be run through our Mighty Networks forum with tutor feedback and support from art therapist and ecotherapist Sam Lewis.

If you are doing this course as part of the Ten Directions programme, you will be required to post something about each exercise in the forum in order to have the hours allocated to your certificate. If, however, you are doing this course purely for pleasure, it is okay not to post every day. We do encourage students to share in the forum as much as possible though, as so much insight comes from shared experience :)

The link to join the forum will be sent to you shortly before the course starts.

We hope you will join us for some ecotherapy photography in summer 2024, friends!

This course counts as 20 hours credits for Ten Directions students.

You complete an exercise each day from Monday-Friday and then share all about your experiences in the forum. The course tutor, Sam, will respond to your posts and guide you through the course.

*Please note that although this event is part of the Ten Directions training course for ecotherapy practitioners, anybody can book and take part in this public online event! If you are interested, please do buy a ticket.*

About Sam Lewis: Sam originally studied Fine and Applied Art at Belfast Art College and followed by a MA in Art Psychotherapy (1st) from Crawford College, Cork. English by birth she returned home from Ireland to the New Forest in 2012 where she manages an art therapy private practice and a working studio.

Cultivating her own nature connection art making has informed her understanding of the healing ability of nature and the wild spaces.

Meeting Caroline Brazier and attending the Ten Directions training programme brought many threads together and enabled Sam’s approach to working therapeutically to shift and refocus. She works creatively with clients in both indoor and outdoor settings and has trained as a Shinrin Yoku practitioner.

Find her online at www.arttherapyhampshire.co.uk