Thinking about taking your counseling practice outside? Explore our Nature-Based and Animal-Assisted Therapy programs and join our Spring 2026 training series. Space is limited—learn more below.
Nurturing Minds Through Nature
Nature-Based & Animal-Assisted: Integrative Therapy Training
Overview
This FREE 6-week immersive training series guides therapists in incorporating nature- and animal-informed approaches into their therapeutic work.
Led by Amy Grace, LMFT, this unique program combines interactive instruction, experiential learning, and reflective practice. Participants will explore somatic awareness, trauma-informed frameworks, and ecologically grounded approaches that promote connection, resilience, and sustainability—both in clients and clinicians.
Objectives
- Enhance presence, attunement, and responsive awareness in the therapeutic relationship, while supporting clients in applying these qualities in their wider relational contexts.
- Integrate somatic awareness and regulation techniques to enhance self-leadership and client engagement in therapy.
- Use the principle of “pressure and release” to skillfully manage relational dynamics, balancing challenge and support to facilitate growth and transformation.
- Apply trauma-informed, nature-centered approaches grounded in systems theory, recognizing the connections between individuals, relationships, and the environment.
- Demonstrate sustainable leadership practices that promote resilience and regeneration for both therapists and clients within clinical and natural environments.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Understand foundational principles of nature-based and animal-assisted therapy
- Use somatic regulation and embodied awareness in therapeutic practice
- Work with relational dynamics through tools like “pressure and release”
- Apply trauma-informed and ecologically centered frameworks
- Foster sustainability and regenerative practices within client and practitioner systems
- Earn up to 20 CE hours: 15 hours for Continuing Education and an additional 5 hours of practice
Certification Requirements
To earn certification, participants must complete:
- All training sessions
- 5 hours of post-training clinical application within their professional setting
These hours must be documented and reflect active integration of the training material.
Meet the Facilitator
Amy Grace, LMFT
Founder of Imagine That Farm, Amy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience. She specializes in Nature-Based Therapy, Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and Care Farm models. Amy’s approach blends somatic awareness, relational healing, and ecological sustainability to reconnect people with themselves, each other, and the natural world.
Spring 2026 - Schedule & Curriculum
Week 1 - Friday, March 6
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Format: In-Person - Onsite
Topic: Welcome & Overview
Description: An immersive, hands-on introduction where participants engage directly with animals and the natural environment. Activities include observing herd dynamics, exploring orientation and safety cues, and practicing foundational somatic and ecological awareness exercises. This session sets the stage for deeper experiential learning throughout the program.
Weeks 2 - 5 - Mondays , March 9, 16, 23, 30
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Format: Zoom (Live)
Description:
Interactive online sessions exploring:
- Orientation for Safety – How animals orient themselves to the environment to feel safe, aware, and calm
- Ecosystem Perspective & Expanded Awareness – Developing a systems perspective, noticing how all parts (people, animals, and the environment) interact, and broadening attention to self, others, and environment
- Pressure and Release – Identifying tension and learning to release it, creating balance to support growth
- Natural Rhythms – Observing and tuning into natural cycles, movement patterns, and rhythms to support regulation, flow, and well-being
Week 6 - Friday - April 3
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Format: In person - Onsite
Details: A hands-on integration session where participants reflect on and synthesize learning from the program. Through guided exercises with animals and the natural environment, participants deepen their understanding of orientation, ecosystem awareness, pressure and release, and natural rhythms. They will develop practical strategies to apply nature- and animal-inspired approaches in their professional practice.
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After the Training: What’s Next?
Once you’ve completed the Nature-Based & Animal-Assisted Therapy Training Series, you’ll be ready to take what you’ve learned and begin integrating it into your clinical work.
To support your ongoing practice, we offer a range of Nature-Based Memberships that provide access to our farm resources, consultation, and continued guidance. Whether you're just starting out or looking to fully immerse in this work, our tiered memberships are designed to help you grow.
Learn more about our Memberships
Visit our Farms.
Discover the Warm Springs Care Farm, a peaceful refuge nestled behind the historic Children’s Home in Boise, where therapy meets the rhythms of nature. Here, clinicians and clients alike connect with the land, animals, and seasonal cycles as part of the healing process.
We’re also proud to collaborate with the One by One Foundation Farm, a companion site offering expansive acreage, equine support, and additional opportunities for nature-based clinical work.
Together, these farms provide a rich, diverse environment to explore regenerative, relationship-centered therapy rooted in care, connection, and community.
A special thank you to our partners and friends at Warm Springs Care Farm, One by One Foundation and Imagine That Farms, for providing us with a peaceful, safe, and supportive environment where we can practice our skills and offer our clients a place of serenity, growth, and healing.
The Warm Springs Care Farm is therapeutic family care farm that offers a variety of volunteer programs such as animal care, Barn Club, art workshops, nature time, therapist trainings, and yoga/movement/breath, offered free at the farm to small groups and individuals.
Their Mission is to improve the mental health and well-being of families with restorative care farm and nature-based, therapeutic experiences. We promote volunteerism and create shared experiences outside for people to connect to nature, heal and grow
The One By One Foundation is dedicated to healing the Minds, Hearts, and Spirits of those in need through sponsoring education and self-sustaining businesses in Ghana, West Africa, providing animal assisted activities for healing in Idaho, and the teaching and practice of Kriya Yoga meditation.
Imagine That Farms offer therapeutic care farm experiences for individuals, families and groups and provides a variety of hands-on learning experiences for mental and emotional well being.
Their intention is to provide spaces where people, animals and the earth intersect and exchange energy for mutual enrichment.
Thanks to a generous grant from KeyBank, we’re able to expand Farm Care Therapy Training—not just for our clinicians, but for communities across Idaho.
We are proud to be an approved continuing education provider, enabling us to offer CE hours not only to our own clinicians but also to professionals throughout the community. Mental health matters in Idaho, and we’re committed to supporting the growth and development of those who serve our communities..
