Urban Forest Bathing for Moments of Joy
by: Jacqueline Kluger, PhD
I’ve been lucky enough to hold some of my therapy sessions with clients in Prospect Park. While this practice started as a Covid safety precaution, it’s blossomed into a special, weekly “forest bath” for those who join me. Over the course of the past year, I’ve watched these clients stumble upon nature unexpectedly and, sometimes, find themselves rendered speechless in its presence. By meeting no matter the weather, we have been forced to find the brilliance in frigid snow-covered fields, early orange sunsets, and blistering morning picnics. If you are able to step into just the perimeter of that wonderland, you may also get to see large snapping turtles trying to cross the road, frogs lined up on a log, families of ducklings on their way back from the bagel shop, a hawk feasting on a pigeon, baby blue jays hoping for a snack, dogs taking a dip in the beach, rabbits peeking out of the woods, a raccoon family high in a tree, or chipmunks darting through the forest floor. Forest bathing, even urban forest bathing, is one form of mental health care that can be integrated into whatever you already find yourself doing. Your busy life may mean that you take your forest bath by looking into your local tree pit or overgrown empty lot, but if you look closely enough, the world will reveal itself to you.
Even on the busiest of days, you’re likely going to find yourself outside - heading to the grocery store, walking the dog, ferrying a child to one activity or another, or picking up a coffee with a friend. These tiny moments are when the magic can happen. Next time you’re outside, even if it’s just to grab a newspaper off the stoop, allow yourself to find pleasure in the experience. Take notice. How does the air feel on your skin? Is it raining? Can you see the sun shining through the canopy of trees? What’s the wildlife up to? Are the birds making a ruckus? If it’s morning, what are the signs of a slowly awakening day? For an evening mini adventure, can you spot any moths or lightning bugs in the lamp light? This summer, I’ve found myself particularly attuned to stoop gardens. With so little personal outdoor space to go around, it’s not surprising that many of our neighbors have chosen to turn their stoops, fences, walls, and windowsills into magnificent little gardens. A simple walk around the block can introduce you to dozens of new plant species. Have you ever looked up and noticed the way the sidewalk trees often meet each other in the middle of the street, creating a squirrel gymnasium?
The notion that nature can function as a therapeutic tool is not a new one, but life in Brooklyn often means that we have to put in a bit of extra work to take advantage of the great outdoors. Over the past decade and a half, we’ve all gotten a heap of pressure from the media to make more time for self-care and, specifically, meaningful moments in green spaces. Despite these calls for “investing more time in ourselves,” there is no shortage of other areas of life that demand our time. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for clients to turn to therapy only once the pain or discomfort has become too great to bear. A 2005 survey reported in JAMA Psychiatry found that about half of Americans will experience mental illness at some point in their lives, with symptoms often beginning by adolescence (Kessler et al.). Therapy is a crucial component to treatment and, in many cases, prevention, for individuals at risk of mental illness. However, another significant chunk of healing is going to come from allowing yourself to be immersed in the bits of natural world around you.
