Re-Nature with Clara Schroeder: Ecotherapy, Climate Grief, and Healing Our Bond with Nature - The Inner Compass Podcast with Vanessa Bennett | Lyssna här

In this episode, Vanessa sits down with Clara Schroeder, ecotherapist and author of Re-Nature: How Nature Helps Us Feel Better and Do Better, for a conversation about ecopsychology, climate grief, ritual, and the healing intelligence of the natural world. Together they explore why “we are nature” is not just a poetic idea, but a psychological and spiritual reality - and how separation from the earth mirrors separation from self, body, belonging, and ritual. They also discuss nature as a co-regulating presence, the specific grief that can follow climate or human-caused ecological disasters, and what it means to repair our attachment with the original mother. This is a conversation about remembering that nature is not outside of us; it is one of the oldest relationships we have.

For educational purposes only. This isn’t therapy.

Resources mentioned:

Re-Nature by Clara Schroeder

Use for: Guest’s book, Re-Nature: How Nature Helps Us Feel Better and Do Better.

Link: https://www.claraschroeder.com/book

Note: Clara’s site describes the book as exploring nature connection, mental health, resilience, climate disruption, and sustainable action.

Ecopsychology / Theodore Roszak

Use for: Defining ecopsychology as the bridge between psychology and ecology / the human psyche and the natural world.

Link: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/ecopsychology

Note: Useful general background on ecopsychology and its association with Theodore Roszak’s The Voice of the Earth.

Nature exposure and health

Use for: Research support that exposure to natural environments is associated with decreased anxiety, rumination, and other mental health benefits.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8125471/

Note: Review article on associations between nature exposure and health.

Nature relatedness and mental health

Use for: Research support that stronger nature relatedness is associated with fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6069224/

Note: Helpful support for the episode’s claim that relationship with nature matters for mental health.

Connectedness to Nature Scale

Use for: Research on emotional / experiential connection to the natural world.

Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222621038_The_Connectedness_to_Nature_Scale_A_Measure_of_Individuals%27_Feeling_in_Community_with_Nature

Note: Mayer and Frantz’s Connectedness to Nature Scale is a common measure in environmental psychology.

Andy Goldsworthy quote

Use for: “We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us…”

Link: https://www.theartstory.org/artist/goldsworthy-andy/

Note: This is a cleaner source than Goodreads for the quote used in the episode.

Lisa Miller / Spirituality Mind Body Institute

Use for: Lisa Miller’s work on spirituality, psychology, and the science of spiritual awareness.

Link: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/faculty/lfm14/

Note: This confirms Lisa Miller as Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute.

Lisa Miller — The Awakened Brain

Use for: Background on spirituality, resilience, and mental health.

Link: https://www.lisamillerphd.com/

Note: Important: I would not use wording that says Lisa Miller “proved synchronicities are real” unless you have a specific source from her work that says that directly. Safer wording: “Lisa Miller’s work explores the science of spirituality and awakened awareness.”

Fractal patterns and stress reduction

Use for: Nature’s fractal patterns and stress/mental fatigue reduction.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8416160/

Note: Supports the episode’s discussion of repeated natural patterns and nervous system regulation.

Disaster / climate-related mental health

Use for: Mental health consequences of disasters, including trauma, anxiety, and depression.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11430943/

Note: Broad support for the climate grief / disaster recovery part of the conversation.

Forest therapy after wildfire disaster

Use for: Nature-based, community-centered support after wildfire or disaster.

Link: https://natureandhealth.uw.edu/publications/forest-therapy-as-a-trauma-informed-approach-to-disaster-recovery-insights-from-a-wildfire-affected-community/

Note: Useful support for nature connection as part of disaster recovery.

Nature attachment theory

Use for: Nature as an attachment figure / the human-nature bond through an attachment theory lens.

Link: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14214

Note: Useful support for the “Mother Nature / original mother / attachment wound” portion of the episode.

Attachment theory overview

Use for: Bowlby, Ainsworth, secure base, attachment needs, and early bonds.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4085672/

Note: Good general research overview on attachment theory and secure base.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés — Women Who Run With the Wolves / life-death-life cycle

Use for: Life-death-life cycle, instinctual nature, and the archetypal feminine frame.

Link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/women-who-run-with-the-wolves-clarissa-pinkola-estes/9929947

Note: The concept is from Estés’s Women Who Run With the Wolves. I did not find a high-quality free source with the full concept explained, so best to cite the book directly rather than a secondary blog.

Human evolution / Homo sapiens

Use for: Vanessa’s comment that humans have existed far longer than modern attachment theory / nuclear-family assumptions.

Link: https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens

Note: Smithsonian source states Homo sapiens have lived from about 300,000 years ago to the present.

Connect with Claire:

Clara’s website:

https://www.claraschroeder.com/

Book page:

https://www.claraschroeder.com/book

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/livingwithclarity/

Book Instagram: