It’s easy to miss the entrance to Penceford Field, on a quietly wealthy road in Queue, West London. But for many who have found their way to this shaded space in the suburbs, it was the first step to dramatically improve their mental health.
The site is the charity of Dose Nature, founded in 2018 by psychologist Dr. Alison Greenwood. It has been referred by GPS for people experiencing a wide range of issues, from depression to addiction.
Greenwood aims to encourage greater connections with nature, saying it “stimulates lifestyle changes that have a significant and lasting impact on people’s mental health.”
Volunteer “Nature Guide” as the backbone of the service, it is relatively inexpensive to provide it, and benefits the cash-bound NHS plagued by long waiting lists for mental health care.
Greenwood said: “The cost-effectiveness of our program is a key part of its success.”
Explaining the philosophy behind it, she said: “For thousands of years around the world, people have used nature to support spiritual well-being in a variety of different ways across all generations and across cultures.”
For example, the “green social prescription” movement, in which GPs recommend that patients participate in walking groups, is one manifestation of this approach.
However, Greenwood believes her venture is a rare thing in the UK. Because it is supervised by mental health professionals, and nature itself is not just a place to participate in the activity, but a therapy.
He spoke to Elaine Lester, left, volunteer Ruth Road Knight. It is relatively inexpensive for volunteer “Nature Guide” to offer ©Anna Gordon/ft as the backbone of natural services doses
Those participating in the Nature’s Program dose will be given an initial assessment by Greenwood or another psychologist for up to two hours. This will take place outdoors, no matter the weather. “Being wet and getting cold can really do good for your brain and body,” she adds.
They are then assigned a nature guide. They were trained to find out if, for example, someone had the idea of suicide, they needed to escalate the situation.
Data collected by the charity shows that it is “consistently superior to consistently comparable NHS interventions,” such as cognitive behavioral therapy, Greenwood said.
The results were even more pronounced, she argued. Because patients included considerations in the NHS that were too severe or complicated for short courses of CBT, who could have been referred to more expensive hospital or community-based care.
The science behind the approach goes far beyond the simple perception that being outdoors will boost your mood. Research has shown that plant-like respiration – the airborne chemicals that trees and plants release to protect themselves from threats such as bacteria, insects, and fungi – can boost the immune system.
Plus, hearing the sounds of nature “will lead to an instantaneous switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, so it becomes a rest/digestion from the combat/flight that most people spend too long,” Greenwood said.
The doses of natural work are inspired by the international “forest medicine” or “forest bathing” movement. “It is said that one stone will kill three birds because it has no side effects, is free, prevents disease and promotes health,” said Kiyoli, the most influential advocate of the Japanese University of Medicine Hospital in Tokyo.
Other countries where the approach was adopted included South Korea, Australia, Canada, parts of the US and Scandinavian countries, Greenwood added.
The LSE study found that participants in the program scored significantly lower in both depression severity. . . And anxiety ‘©Anna Gordon/ft
The charity receives some resources from local governments and the NHS, and raises the rest from donations, grants and funding. There is no fee for patient services. All GP surgeries in adjacent Boroughs of Richmond and Kingston, as well as North Guilford, refer to patients ages 16 to 96.
Each dose of natural “prescription” can take between 400 and 500 pounds. This includes 10 weeks of one-on-one sessions and unlimited access to other nature-based activities, such as outdoor art classes and Qigong sessions.
In contrast, official 2022 NHS data covering 47 providers suggests that CBT costs £1,350 for the 10-week course.
Greenwood said the charity’s work clearly relieves tension in the NHS and refers to an independent study conducted for the treatment of local family doctors, finding an average 40% reduction in GP contact in six months since patients dealt with natural doses compared to six months ago.
“One of the reasons why GPS accepts what we have to offer is because we are psychologists and have worked for the NHS.
Last year, preliminary findings from a study by behavioral scientists Kate Lafan and Christian Krekel of the London School of Economics concluded that participants in the programme had “significantly lower in both depression severity and both depression and anxiety.”
They also scored significantly higher in both “life satisfaction and sense of purpose in life” than the control group of people who are on charity waiting lists and initiating treatment.
Volunteer Nature Guide Loose Rodnight has been working with charities for over two years © Anna Gordon/ft
Ruth Road Knight, a two-and-a-half year volunteer at the center, said, “It’s not a guided nature walk. I’m not a counselor. Everything you say to me will be private.”
Groomed by an abusive older man in his early teens and endured decades of mental health, Elaine Lester endured outdoor activities, including drawing and writing poetry, and said Lord Knight was “locked” by “inner confidence.” At 55, she finally became the “best version” of herself, she said.
Another person whose program was transformative is Tom Crumins, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder almost 15 years ago.
Tom Krumins: “I feel like I have a strong understanding of depression” © Anna Gordon/ft
Since completing the program two years ago, Crumins said, “I say I have never actually experienced an episode of volatile man disease and feel like I have a strong grasp of depression.” He is now himself a natural guide dosage.
Crumins added: “Your mind is so desperate, and if you are troubled by the past or fear the future, if you can start to hear the birds sing, you can suddenly adjust you to the present.
