Birds of Prey and
Nature Assisted Therapy
Dr Karen has a unique approach which transforms the lives of her clients.
Every client, and every session is different and a collaboration. Karen consults with every client by phone before arranging a therapy session. Book a call to talk to her about your needs and to make sure this therapy is right for you.
Sensations more than words
There are many reasons for seeking therapy. The pressures of modern life may be causing you chronic mental stress and pain, or you may be struggling with grief, trauma or social anxiety.
Counselling and medication work for some people, but not for all, and sometimes complementary or different approaches are needed.
Animal Assisted Therapy and Nature Assisted Therapy brings you together with animals and the wild outdoors in a guided process that helps you to re-engage your senses and experience well-being. Finding that deep connection can assist you to reach the root of your issues and ‘reset’ your response.
It sounds simple, but a sensory experience – like walking barefoot on sand and stepping into the sea – can bring out feelings in a way that a conversation can’t. In fact you don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to.
“Before I met Karen and the birds I was unable to leave my house. I was lost in myself. Life is completely different now”
“The bird that really touched me was Rosie. Everything you’re carrying in your head and heart just drops away and you’re in the moment. She put her wing around me and it brought me to tears. I’ll never forget it. It was really really powerful.”
"Karen’s ability to interpret the symbolic meaning of my experience was a powerful wake up call for me to get into action in neglected areas of my life. I am grateful for the insights and the encouragement."
"I was tired & have recently been on a bit of a roller coaster emotionally… but I felt so connected with the trees, the river & good company. My spirit lifted, felt like a weight had lifted, am feeling revitalized. The energy was so uplifting it felt so magical."
How it works
Changing perception at the deepest level
Imagine this…. If you perceive ‘danger’, you react to it. If you constantly perceive danger, you live in a state of constant anxiety. When you feel safe, you have no need to react in a ‘fight or flight’ mode.
It is perception that makes the difference.
Grief, stress, trauma can create a heightened sense of vigilance and fear, or numbness. This can come from a series of events or one event, and everyone responds in their own way.
How you perceive what is happening to you changes how you react.
After suffering grief, stress or trauma, an everyday occurrence can feel threatening or overwhelming, and trigger a series of intense physical, mental and emotional reactions. These ‘triggers’ are signals at a neurobiological level. The reactions are real, not attention seeking.
Changing your trigger response needs a change in perception at a neurobiological level. You need to be willing to change, but it is not an intellectual yes/no decision. It comes from the deep reconnection that can happen in animal and nature assisted therapy.
The change is profound and lasting.
Therapy to suit your needs
Individual Therapy with Birds of Prey in Private Devon Woodland
Individual Therapy is typically a series of 2 hour sessions that may include Animal- or Nature-Assisted Therapy, or both, depending on Dr Karen’s assessment of your needs. There is no set programme, you will be invited to co-work with the birds and the natural environment, and issues tend to come up when it is the right time to deal with them. This type of therapy is suitable for anyone wanting to improve their mental health, including those struggling with grief, anxiety, stress, PTSD, and chronic and severe illness. Working at a primal level, the deep connection that Dr Karen helps you achieve can bring about real and lasting change and transformation
Times and dates of session are by arrangement after a consultation call to see how Dr Karen can help you.
Venue: Private land in the Blackdown Hills, Devon. Other locations possible by special arrangement to suit your needs, within c.20 miles of Wellington, Somerset.
Nature Assisted Therapy: £165
Animal Assisted Therapy: £245
Nature Therapy
Nature-assisted therapy is also known as forest bathing, ecotherapy, forest therapy, or by its Japanese name ‘shinrin yoku’. It can involve a range of techniques, but means working closely with and in nature to improve your physical and mental health. Dr Karen's approach is to let yourself connect with the beauty and details of experiencing what nature has to offer, using all of your senses, while she brings her vast knowledge to guide you. Whether individual or in a group, you will be invited both to walk, explore and to be still in a forest environment. This helps you to relax and feel a sense of belonging and well-being.
Individual sessions are offered on private land on weekdays near Clayhidon in the Blackdown Hills in Devon or near Nether Stowey in the Quantock Hills in Somerset.
Dr Karen can also run sessions in public woodlands by arrangement, up to 20miles from Wellington, Somerset.
Individual Session: £45/hour.
Group Session (Up to 6 people): £180 for a 2 hour session.
1 to 1 Support for Young People with Mental Health Needs
Children and young adults with Special Educational Needs often experience high levels of stress struggling to fit into conventional learning or social environments.
Unpressured time in nature and with birds of prey is a chance to engage with surroundings in a relaxed and instinctive way. These sessions are 1 to 1 time for young people to feel safe, supported, listened to, and to find their own strategies to work with nature for their own mental health.
Every person has individual needs, and Dr Karen will adapt to each client, but from experience the sessions are helpful for young people with anxiety, sensory sensitivity and challenges related to neurodiversity. Some parents/carers have been able to use SEN budget provision for regular sessions.
Dr Karen’s sessions take place outdoors, but are not ‘forest school’. There is no curriculum for these sessions. It is, however, a learning experience. It is common for children and young people to come out of their withdrawn behaviour and become lively and curious, and they often leave with lots of new knowledge about the birds and the forest.
Sessions take place on weekdays on private land near Clayhidon in the Blackdown Hills in Devon and are subject to availability and individual needs, but as an indication could be 1-2 hours per week or fortnight. Fees are based on a minimum rate of £65/hour
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