How do you plan and lead a solo and story-telling practice?

This course explores the art of designing and facilitating transformative outdoor solo experiences. It shows how to plan and prepare for solos so that are safe and effective, and outlines a tried-and-tested way of organising and leading a story-telling process to unlock meaning and transform lives.

Learning Outcomes

  • Take a step-by-step walk through this ancient and powerful practice;

  • Learn about planning and preparing your clients for a solo experience;

  • Gain a clear picture of how you might design and lead similar processes;

  • Explore some of the dangers and pitfalls of solo practice and how to avoid them;

  • Discover the subtle and transformative art of reflective story-telling.

Course Contents

    1. Welcome!

    2. Topics

    3. Course Instructions

    4. Touching Ground

    1. Introduction

    2. The Solo

    3. NOTES: The Solo Brief

    1. The Story Circle

    2. NOTES: The Storytelling Brief

    1. Summary

Ecotherapy Practice: Solos & Stories

  • 10 lessons
  • 5 notional study hours
  • Webinar podcasts
  • Briefing Notes Downloads

Reviews

5 star rating

Much more than a 'how to...'

Deborah Richardson-Webb

This was an excellent course. It's full of deep insight and knowledge gained from years of experience, ranging from the practical to the psychological and be...

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This was an excellent course. It's full of deep insight and knowledge gained from years of experience, ranging from the practical to the psychological and beyond. Dave makes it clear that engaging in this practice with others is treading in the footsteps of our forbears but he offers the weight and the power of the process in an open, accessible and approachable way. The course left me really wanting to develop the solo activity into my existing practice and feeling clear about the steps I would need to take to begin safely and with empathy.

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5 star rating

Excellent

Zands Bruty

This course looks in detail at how best to prepare clients for an outdoor solo experience, and how to make sure that they are mentally and physically prepare...

Read More

This course looks in detail at how best to prepare clients for an outdoor solo experience, and how to make sure that they are mentally and physically prepared for the experience. The information concerning the art of the post-experience story telling circle is so helpful; makes you realise that everything a facilitator does (pre/post solo experience) is a vital part of the client's experience.

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Course Leader

David Key

Dave co-led the post-graduate ecopsychology programme at the University of Strathclyde for seven years. He also taught ecopsychology at Schumacher College and as a lecturer at Universities including Edinburgh, Stirling, Plymouth, Exeter, Anglia Ruskin, and Ashridge Business School.

Dave holds an MSc (Dist.) in Human Ecology and is a Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology. He has over 25 years of practical experience facilitating transformative and therapeutic outdoor experiences, and is an internationally qualified outdoor leader. He has published numerous papers, articles and chapters. His first book, 'Ecotherapy: A Field Guide' was published in 2023.