Nature and Forest Therapy Expert Guide Training
Talk to those who have been there from the beginning. Trainers who have guided in forests throughout the world. Guides who have met and managed a myriad of situations encountered on the trail. People who know this practice in their heads, hearts, and bones. Learn the details of ANFT’s acclaimed training. Is it the right training for you?
Forest Therapy Training Worldwide - Online and In-person
Uniting a global community bound by passion & expertise
Become Part of the Movement that is Helping Others Discover The Healing Power of Nature
Forest Bathing
Forest bathing is not the same thing as hiking or a simple walk in the woods. The destination in forest bathing is “here,” not “there.” The pace is slow, not fast. The focus is on connection and relationship. The heart opens.
Immerse your senses in that ambience of the forest. Walk slowly and notice things. Feel the touch of the breeze on your skin; notice the sounds of the brook and the birds and the movement of trees in the wind. Let what you notice find its home inside you; give it hospitality. You are home.
From “Your Guide to Forest Bathing” by M. Amos Clifford
Forest Therapy
The Forest is the Therapist, the Guide opens the Doors.
This is the motto we work and live by. We believe that the forest and nature in general carries the wisdom and offers the healing that each person needs. As guides we work in partnership with the forest. We support others as they awaken their senses and slow down to become fully present in and with the forest.
Guides are not therapists. Support for wellness, personal development, and perhaps healing comes to participants from their interaction with natural environments. Guided activities have as their sole aim creating and sustaining safe, meaningful, and relational contact between participants and nature.
From ANFT Forest Therapy Guide Training Manual
Relational Forest Therapy
There are two strands of forest therapy. One is founded in research oriented to public health. The other, pioneered by ANFT, is called “Relational Forest Therapy.” We find ourselves in expanded webs of interbeing, in which the other-than-human beings we encounter in the forest become less like objects, and more like friends and family.
Relational Forest Therapy will help you remember who you are. You were born to take your place in the great work unfolding every day, everywhere. Training as a guide is a way to help you prepare to step up, accept your calling, and find your joy through skillfully bridging the human-built world and the wild world of nature.
Embedded in this expanded community, we experience greater degrees of freedom in how we explore the world, and in what we are able to learn about ourselves.
Choose Your Cohort
(Upcoming Training)
Wild Rose - Cohort 127
Enrollment Open
Start date & language:
April 3, 2024
English
Live calls (all times in US Pacific). Check your time zone.
Wednesdays, 3-5 PM
Wild Geese - Cohort 128
Enrollment Open
Start date & language:
April 7, 2024
English
Live calls (all times in US Pacific). Check your time zone.
Sundays, 3-5 AM / 12-2 PM Central Europe Time
Rainbows - Cohort 129
Enrollment Open
Start date & language:
May 2, 2024
English
Live calls (all times in US Pacific). Check your time zone.
Thursdays, 4-6 PM
Nature Needs You
Become A Guide
Join Our Network
Certify Your Trails
Experience a 5 minute Forest Therapy Break
Develop a Rich Array of Skills & Knowledge
Journey toward skills and knowledge through 14 modules, over 120 lessons
Join 14 live calls presentations from your trainers and cohort
Participate in small group discussion calls guided by ANFT trainers
Read the latest edition of our landmark manual
Learn from our top experts through 30+ short videos on different topics
Learn by completing 40+ assignments/ self exploration activities
Experience 20+ nature connection activities
Learn the research papers and studies
Test your growning knowledge through "Fun Facts and Reflections"
Experience Remote Forest Therapy walks guided by trainers
Guide your own walks and debrief them
Join the largest forest therapy guide's community worldwide
What will you say after you have earned your ANFT Forest Therapy Guide certification?
"It's a great combination of reading, videos, assignments, Zoom meetings and walks. I also really appreciate the group/chorort that is formed as it feels very supportive to be able to share with others who in the same stage of learning. Having 3 different instructors, each bringing their own experiences, perspectives and thoughts to the training is also really valuable."
Jacquie