Meet The Facilitators

Stephen McCabe is an ecotherapy practitioner who works with mindfulness, tarot, myth and storytelling. He grew up in the working-class suburbs of Liverpool, England. He adored wild animals as a child, which he would encounter in city parks amongst the broken glass and litter. However, he lost touch with his nature-connection in his adult life. When he was in his late thirties, he tried his first mindfulness exercises in a local park and it changed his life. Little did he know he was practising ecotherapy! Nature came alive for him in those moments, and so began his journey practising Buddhism in the Serene Reflection Meditation (Soto Zen) tradition and connecting with nature.

Stephen is a qualified person-centred counsellor and he ran Scotland’s national LGBT+ helpline for many years. Stephen trained on the Ten Directions programme from 2018-2020. He now runs various online nature programmes (including ecotherapy programmes based solely on mythology and storytelling) through his ecotherapy practice Nature Therapy Online. He also works as an ecotherapist for the Edinburgh-based charity Health All Round.

He lives in a small village in Midlothian, Scotland: an area which he adores and has written a book of nature-based folktales about, ‘The Moorfoot Tales’.

Stephen is a member of the core Ten Directions team.

Author of seven books on Buddhism and psychotherapy and many papers and articles, Caroline holds an MPhil in counselling, diplomas in counselling and groupwork and a supervision certificate. She is a BACP Accredited psychotherapist. Caroline originally trained as a teacher and has worked extensively in education, health and with women's groups. She has been a teacher and is an ordained Jodo Shinshu Buddhist priest (Japanese Pure Land Buddhism). In the past she has taken a special interest in eating disorders and more recently in ecotherapy. Caroline has three adult children.

Caroline set up the initial Ten Directions ecotherapy training course in France back in 2011. It has continued to grow ever since, with Caroline’s involvement being key at every stage.

Caroline is a member of the core Ten Directions team.

Fairlie interweaves Internal Family Systems with Buddhist Psychology through talking therapy, creative methods and inter-being awareness. Her work with inner parts through the IFS model facilitates individuals in deepening self understanding and compassion for both self and others through a restoration of inner balance and harmony which then ripples outwards into personal relationships and the world beyond. This is further enhanced through working outdoors where this interconnectivity can be experienced directly and consciously.

Fairlie works both 1-1 and with groups as well as teaching workshops as a core member of the Tariki Staff team. She has previous experience working with children and young people, and continues to offer parent consultation for this client group.

Fairlie is a Dzogchen practitioner and is fortunate to be part of an active Sangha who follow the teachings of Tsoknyi Rinpoche. She lives in rural Norfolk where she lives with her family on a 2 acre plot.

Email: counsellingwithfairlie@gmail.com

Website: www.waveneyvalleycounselling.com

Harriet Sams teaches, mentors, and facilitates archaeotherapy. She is a core tutor for the Tariki Trust, co-hosts online conversations with ecological creators, thinkers and writers for the charity Radical Joy for Hard Times and co-facilitates imaginal workshops for the Climate Psychology Alliance. She writes about interconnected threads such as myth, archaeology, Earth-based spirituality, environmental art, and climate/ecological chaos. Harriet has recently contributed a chapter to the influential book: ‘Climate, Psychology and Change: Reimagining Psychotherapy in an Era of Global Disruption and Climate Anxiety’, edited by Steffi Bednarek, and is currently researching the phenomenon of Archaeotherapy for her PhD.

Hari’s lifelong connection to the spirit of Land inspires the ways in which she approaches ecology, heritage and soul. A Druid with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and a Quaker, Hari’s esoteric, mystical experiences weave through all she does. 

Her work can be followed here: www.nwyfre-earth.co

Why are humans so cruel and destructive to each other, other species & the ecosystem; and what might our human role be as members of the ecosystemic web? Since childhood, these question have informed my life and work - in ecological education and habitat management, research in ecological anthropology & organisational behaviour (UCL, Oxford & Open Universities), & psychospiritual therapy practice integrating ecological & transpersonal understanding.

My teaching includes Transpersonal Ecopsychology & Psychotherapy, Education for Sustainability (since 1995) & psychotherapy research. Publications include: Ancestral warnings of ecosystemic holocaust, its psychospiritual causes, and clues to resolution (Self & Society Journal, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2015) Longing to be Human: evolving ourselves in healing the Earth (In Rust & Totton ed. Vital Signs, London: Karnac, 2012), Finding Meaning without Consuming (In Stibbe, ed, Handbook of Sustainability Literacy, Green Books. 2009), Psychotherapy as an Eco-Systemic Activity (The Psychotherapist, Winter 2008/9)

(Paul is a member of the core Ten Directions team.)

Sam originally studied Fine and Applied Art at Belfast Art College and followed by a MA in Art Psychotherapy (1st) from Crawford College, Cork. English by birth she returned home from Ireland to the New Forest in 2012 where she manages an art therapy private practice and a working studio.

Cultivating her own nature connection art making has informed her understanding of the healing ability of nature and the wild spaces.

Meeting Caroline Brazier and attending the Ten Directions training programme brought many threads together and enabled Sam’s approach to working therapeutically to shift and refocus. She works creatively with clients in both indoor and outdoor settings and has trained as a Shinrin Yoku practitioner.

Find her online at www.arttherapyhampshire.co.uk

Sam is a member of the core Ten Directions team.

Rolinke is a Scottish-based multi-media artist, mystic and (eco-)spiritual director. She has quite an eclectic background and approach, combining her deep love for arts, nature, study and spirituality in her daily work and living. Rolinke has always been intrigued and inspired by the personal narratives of the land and of all creatures around her. Even from a young age she was convinced that all life, and life’s journey, is sacred, and should be listened to, valued, and respected. This nature-based ethos is her basis for creating art, and to inspire and influence her environment.

Rolinke loves to offer practical and spiritual tools immersed in nature and sustainability to bring others closer to the heartbeat of the land, and to their own calling within the sacredness of life. She just finished her second year of Tariki Trust in Environmentally Based Therapies, and is starting up her own practices. Next to that she is member of OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids), and a facilitator in the Wild Church and Forest Church movements. You can find her, and her (art)work, on www.triskelyon.art

Don de Silva is an environmentalist, diplomat, author, Buddhist Chaplain, and trainer.

He worked as a senior official with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and also for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and implemented effective global media campaigns to create awareness about sustainable development and has participated in creating new forms of environmental diplomacy. He has worked in over 135 countries.

He has also participated in getting governments to work together to tackle environmental issues. He was particularly involved in the establishment of the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), the first-ever inter-governmental body in the region.

He writes on solutions to environmental issues. His publication include: Against All Odds and Banking the Unbankable.

A certified mindfulness trainer, he focuses on the Buddhist foundations of mindfulness, particularly its relevance to sustainable living. Presently a university mentor, delivering sessions on areas, such as mindfulness and confidence building, reducing stress and anxiety, mindful learning and speaking.

He delivers sessions on radical Buddhism for sustainable change, and faith, environment and justice, responding to climate change and COVID 19.

Erja Järvelä is a compassionate advocate for holistic well-being, whose journey from the corporate world to nature-based healing exemplifies her dedication to personal growth and community support. After earning a law degree from the University of Helsinki in 1990 and a Master of International Business from the University of San Diego in 1993, Erja spent 16 years in a multinational telecom company. Despite her success, she felt a deeper calling towards promoting peace, joy, and balance in life.

In 2013, Erja founded Mixing Nuts Oy, a company dedicated to holistic health coaching. She became a certified health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York in 2012 and furthered her studies in nature and environmental advising in 2017. Her passion for the healing effects of nature led her to become a certified Metsämieli "Forest Mind" instructor and trainer, guiding individuals and groups in harnessing nature's restorative powers.

Erja's commitment to personal development is evident in her continuous learning. She completed ecotherapist studies with Tariki Trust in 2023 and finished training as a neuropsychiatric coach in January 2025. Beyond her professional pursuits, Erja actively volunteers and mentors in various programs.

Through her work and personal journey, Erja inspires others to find their inner light and purpose, promoting holistic healing and expanding consciousness about the self and mind. Her story is a testament to the transformative power of aligning one's life with core values and passions.

Website: https://www.mixingnuts.fi/en-us/

Daniela Kato, PhD, is a writer, teacher, maker and storyteller working in ecotherapy. She is a graduate of Tariki Trust's Ten Directions Ecotherapy Programme and of Red School's Menstruality Leadership Programme.

Born in Porto, Portugal, Daniela has been based in Japan since 2007. After a decade of teaching environmental literature and film at various universities in Japan and China, in the spring of 2021 she moved to a small village in northern Yamanashi, where she is currently focusing on community-oriented creative projects weaving together the local folklore and landscape, craftwork and foraging practices. She is also training in Shinrin Yoku with The Forest Therapy Society of Japan.

Daniela continues to teach and publish widely on the ecology of myths, folktales and fairy tales across the arts, and is passionate about telling old and new stories that inspire both international audiences and local communities to reconnect with the creativity of nature in the places where they live.

Find Daniela online at:

https://independent.academia.edu/DanielaKato

https://www.instagram.com/daniela_kato/

Alexandra is an Art Psychotherapist & Ecotherapist currently working in an NHS community setting. She previously worked in forensic services, which sparked her interest in the field of trauma and recovery. 

Alexandra lives in Dorset, England, by the coast. She finds solace in cold water swimming and being in wild places. 

She is passionate about wildlife & the natural world, which she explores through her own artwork / creative process and finding ways to manage her own eco grief. This has included developing workshops related to the climate crisis - with the emphasis on fostering a sense of hope and building community & connection. 

Alexandra is a deep believer in the healing powers of the natural world, which must be a reciprocal process - taking care of Mother Nature as she takes care of us! Realising we are part of the ecosystem has a profound shift on our relationship with ourselves & the earth. This was something she began to appreciate during Tariki Ecotherapy training which she completed in 2023. 

Alexandra is developing private practice working outside, which will integrate both Art Therapy & Ecotherapy. 

Nina is by profession a Clinical Psychologist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Group Psychotherapist, Jungian Coach ACC (ICF), Clinical and Organizational Supervisor, Ecotherapist, Qigong and Yoga Instructor. She is also a long-term student of Animism and a Shamanic Practitioner. She has completed Tariki Trust’s Ten Directions Ecotherapy training, and finds Tariki Trust’s integrative approach impressive and motivating.

Nina has always lived in two worlds, and loves to integrate the scientific and the mythological. Bringing Evolutionary Psychology and the wonderful findings of Neuroscience into union with the Spiritual sets her on fire :) She has particular interest and experience in Depth Psychology, dreamwork and imaginative practices as well as the transition of midlife. She is, herself, a middle aged woman of Finnish origin, and lives in Finland with her family which consists of human people and animal people. Her favourite places are the forest and the lake (which are luckily not hard to find in Finland).

www.deep-earth.net/in-english/

e-mail: nina.pyykkonen@elisanet.fi

I am an author, facilitator of poetry and journal therapy, and certified life coach who helps people discover and live their Wild Soul Story so they can bridge the false divide between outer and inner nature, Earth and Self, and become fully creative, connected and alive.

As well as being founder of "Live Your Wild Soul Story", I am also core faculty for the Therapeutic Writing Institute, the leading training institute for practitioners in the field of therapeutic writing. In 2016, I became an instructor for TreeSisters.org, a non-profit with the dual mission of empowering women and reforesting the tropics.

When people ask me about my work, I tell them that I believe that if we are to rewild the world, it has to begin by rewilding our own souls. My writing conveys this passion. My first book, Embrace Your Inner Wild, was nominated as best nature book, 2011. Reclaiming the Wild Soul: How Earth’s Landscapes Restore Us to Wholeness (a 2015 Nautilus Prizewinner) was praised by Richard Louv, Angeles Arrien and David Abram, among others.

‘A Wild Soul Woman: 5 Earth Archetypes to Unleash Your Full Feminine Power’ launched in September 2022.

Find Mary online at https://www.maryreynoldsthompson.com

Donna loves connecting people to the restorative aspects of nature, to help reawaken their well-being. As a Horticultural Therapist, completing her certification at the Horticultural Therapy Program at the New York Botanical Garden, she works with children, seniors, people living with cancer and folks of all ages.

Majored in Fine Art at FIT in NYC, she studied Whole Plant based Nutrition through eCornell, The Art and Science of Herbalism, with Rosemary Gladstar and trained as a Tinkergarden Leader (Learning through nature, for children 18 months to 8 years old). A passionate garden teacher, she works in schools with children pre-k through 8th grade. Many of her students are on the spectrum; here she finds her HT can be applied in an engaging and profound way.

Donna is a student of Buddhism and tea ceremonies (Chinese Gong Fu Cha and Japanese chanoyu). Her art is expressed in many different mediums, with her main focus on ceramic sculpture and working with calabash gourds. Diverse interests have led her to combine a love of nature, wellness, and art. Inspired by how they can bring benefit to others, Donna draws connection to each in her work.

Visit Donna online at https://donnasoszynska.wixsite.com/yournewnature

Sowmya Srinivasan has an Mphil in Psychology (HR) (Annamalai University) and has been working as a Professional Storyteller from 2009 onwards. She uses storytelling and creative techniques to develop imagination through a venture called SoulSpace Storytell.

Sowmya facilitates healing storytelling circles called Soul Story Mandala for adults and is an associate at Muktha Foundation, an organisation working in the space of mental health and abuse prevention. She is one of the founder-members of Bangalore Storytelling Society, a not-for-profit community that spreads awareness on the Art of Oral Storytelling.

She has undergone training in Storytelling therapy from the World Storytelling Institute (Chennai), trained in Theatre of the Oppressed, and a certified Mindfulness practitioner and Happiness coach (Happitude; India). She completed her training in Narrative Practices and Ecotherapy in 2023- 2024.

Her current field of work includes curriculum development , learner centric pedagogy and facilitation. She integrates Storytelling, Positive Psychology, Narrative practices and is looking forward to including Eco therapeutic practices as well.

You can contact Sowmya at sowmya03@gmail.com

Ally Stott has a great love of Hills, Water and Weaving.

Many moons ago on Dartmoor, she experienced herself being listened to by the Moor and realised everything she was in relationship with was alive with its own voice and soulful intelligence, aware of our presence and communicating. This moment has creatively shaped the direction of her work over the last 15 years as an Ecotherapist, Psychotherapist and Craniosacral Therapist.

Ally has a background as an artist and worked for many years with people living with life threatening illnesses. She is part of Ecotherapy Oxford, running retreats & workshops based on the Celtic Wheel of the Year and Ecotherapy trainings.

Find out more about her work at www.allystott.co.uk

Charlotte is a doctor with experience in forensic psychiatry. She was raised with modern witchcraft and tarot, then began practising shamanically.

She has completed the counselling diploma and enjoyed learning ecotherapy, both with Tariki Trust.

She blends aspects of myth, witchcraft, shamanism and tarot to therapeutic effect in her private practice and provides experiential workshops either online or face to face.

For more information, please visit www.goddesscounselling.com

You can email her at: charlotte@goddesscounselling.com

Tamsin is an eco-therapist and a mindfulness and Active Hope trainer, based in Berlin. 

After working as an environment journalist for many years and seeing the increasing impact of the climate crisis on planet and people, Tamsin trained to become an Active Hope facilitator, eco-therapist, mindfulness teacher and climate change coach. Alongside her journalism, she now combines these skills to work with those looking for a sense of hope and honest perspective in the midst of what is arguably the greatest challenge of our times.

Carla Walmsley-Esteves is an integrative body psychotherapist, somatic movement educator, focusing oriented arts teacher and eco-therapist. Her work has evolved out of 20 years of practice, training and professional experience, bridging somatic psychology, movement studies, eco-psychology, deep ecology and women’s health.

She holds a MA in Somatic Well being , BSc (Hons) in Ecology, and is currently undertaking a Doctorate of Arts in Eco-psychology and Environmental Humanities.