COMPLETE THE PATH TO CERTIFICATION
Nature Informed Therapy Certification Mentorship
Foundational Training introduces the framework. Mentorship helps you bring it into real life.
Over three months, you will move through a shared learning arc of noticing, practicing, designing, and reflecting. Individual consultation, small-group learning, and four guided Field Practices give you room to explore how Nature Informed Therapy fits your professional role, setting, and community.
The structure is shared. The way you apply it is your own.
Successful completion of the mentorship and all certification requirements leads to Certified Nature Informed Therapist or Certified Nature Informed Practitioner certification.
Prerequisite: Completion of CNIT’s three-day Foundational Training
ONE SHARED PATH. MANY WAYS TO PRACTICE.
A Unified Mentorship Pathway
Nature informed work rarely fits neatly into one category.
A clinician may also facilitate groups. An educator may develop community programming. A practitioner may work across wellness, organizational, and outdoor settings. Rather than asking participants to separate those roles into different tracks, CNIT’s mentorship follows one shared learning arc.
Everyone completes the same four Field Practices. You choose the context, scale, and form that best support your learning and reflect your professional role.
You Do Not Need to Choose a Track
Clinical, group, programmatic, educational, organizational, and community-based applications are all welcome.
You may focus on one setting throughout mentorship or draw from several parts of your work. The learning goals remain consistent while the expression remains flexible.
Individual work
Apply the Field Practices to therapeutic, coaching, wellness, or other one-to-one settings within your scope.
Group facilitation
Explore groups, workshops, retreats, support programs, or shared experiences.
Programs and communities
Develop or refine community initiatives, nonprofit programs, public offerings, or nature-based projects.
Education and organizations
Apply nature informed principles in schools, workplaces, healthcare settings, leadership, or organizational wellness.
What the Program Includes
Four Field Practices From Observation to Integration
01
Four Guided Field Practices
Apply Nature Informed Therapy through a structured series of professional exercises designed to strengthen observation, confidence, creativity, and integration.
The four practices move from applying a nature-informed lens to developing and reflecting on meaningful professional application.
02
Three Individual Consultations
Meet with experienced CNIT consultants for personalized guidance connected to your professional setting and goals.
03
Three Small-Group Consultations
Learn alongside professionals applying Nature Informed Therapy across a range of disciplines and communities.
04
Certification Review
Complete the required mentorship work and receive a final review for C-NIT or C-NIP certification.
FROM KNOWING TO DOING
Build a Practice That Fits Your Work
Mentorship gives you time to experiment, ask questions, receive feedback, and discover how Nature Informed Therapy can take shape within your own professional context.
Outcomes
-
Develop greater confidence applying nature informed principles.
-
Learn how to make thoughtful choices about setting, pacing, accessibility, and fit.
-
Translate foundational concepts into practical professional applications.
-
Receive support around challenges, uncertainty, and emerging ideas.
-
Learn from professionals working in different settings.
-
Strengthen your identity as a nature informed therapist or practitioner.
TWO DESIGNATIONS. ONE CORE LEARNING ARC.
Which Certification Fits Your Professional Role?
C-NIT and C-NIP participants complete the same mentorship structure. The designation reflects the professional role and scope within which the participant applies the learning.
C-NIT
Certified Nature Informed Therapist
For licensed or otherwise legally authorized mental health professionals integrating Nature Informed Therapy into clinical care.
Participants may apply the Field Practices to individual therapy, group therapy, psychoeducation, clinical programs, retreats, or other services permitted within their professional scope.
C-NIT certification does not replace professional licensure, clinical supervision, employer requirements, or applicable laws.
C-NIP
Certified Nature Informed Practitioner
For professionals applying nature informed principles in non-clinical settings such as education, healthcare, wellness, organizations, community programming, environmental work, coaching, and facilitation.
C-NIP certification recognizes professional development within the holder’s existing role. It does not authorize psychotherapy, mental health diagnosis, or clinical treatment.
Unsure which designation fits your work? Contact training@NatureInformedTherapy.org before enrolling.
COMPLETING THE PATHWAY
Requirements for Certification
To receive C-NIT or C-NIP certification, participants must successfully complete:
• The CNIT three-day Foundational Training
• Four required Field Practices
• Three individual consultations
• Three small-group consultations
• All required revisions and administrative steps
• CNIT’s final certification review
Enrollment or attendance alone does not guarantee certification. Certification is awarded after CNIT confirms that all requirements have been completed and approved.
PERSONALIZED PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
Learn With Experienced CNIT Consultants
CNIT consultants bring experience across clinical practice, groups, trauma, grief, expressive arts, children and families, somatic work, retreats, community programs, organizations, and outdoor settings.
Enrolled participants may choose consultants whose experience aligns with the work they are developing.
COMPLETING THE PATHWAY
Continue Your Certification Journey
Cohort | Enrollment Deadline | Group Consult #1 | Group Consult #2 | Group Consult #3 | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
08/14/2026 | 09/11/2026 | 10/02/2026 | 11/06/2026 | ||
12/04/2026 | 01/08/2027 | 02/05/2027 | 02/26/2027 | ||
05/14/2027 | 06/04/2027 | 07/09/2027 | 07/30/2027 | 08/13/2027 | |
10/15/2027 | 11/12/2027 | 12/17/2027 | 01/14/2028 | 01/21/2028 |
KEEP GROWING
Certification Is Active for Three Years
C-NIT and C-NIP certifications remain active for three years.
To renew, certified professionals complete six qualifying continuing education hours and submit the CNIT renewal application. Eligible learning may include CNIT trainings, designated professional development programs, and approved external courses.
Book Individual Consultations
Cancellation & No-Show Policy for Individual Consultations
Because individual consultation sessions are reserved in advance with CNIT training consultants, the following policy applies:
-
Rescheduling with 48+ hours’ notice: no fee
-
Late cancellation with less than 48 hours’ notice: $60 fee
-
No-show or arrival more than 15 minutes late: $120 fee
Consultants will remain available for the first 15 minutes of the scheduled session. If a participant arrives within that window, the session may continue but will still end at the original scheduled time.
Make-up sessions are not guaranteed and depend on consultant availability. Emergencies may be reviewed case by case.
Audrey Costa
Audrey Costa is a Licensed Associate Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Certified Nature Informed Therapist with more than 20 years of experience across education, wellness, outdoor facilitation, and therapeutic programming. She integrates trauma-informed counseling, somatic awareness, experiential practice, and nature connection in her work with individuals, groups, and organizations. Audrey also designs retreats and outdoor programs, bringing training in wilderness safety, health coaching, yoga, mindfulness, and recovery support to her mentorship work.
Specialty: Trauma and recovery · Retreats and outdoor programs · Somatic and holistic wellness · Program development
Gina Strauss
Gina Strauss is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and clinical supervisor who helps professionals bring Nature Informed Therapy into both indoor and urban settings. Her work draws on biophilic design, nature-based metaphor, experiential practice, seasonal rhythms, and somatic approaches. Gina is especially interested in helping trainees use nature intentionally to support emotional regulation, self-reflection, meaning-making, and compassionate reconnection with self.
Specialty: Indoor and urban practice · Trauma and somatic work · Seasonal approaches · Groups and presentations
Nathalie Savell
Nathalie Savell is an experienced nature-informed therapist who works in outdoor, virtual, group, and retreat settings. She has facilitated seasonal personal-growth groups for women on Baltimore County trails and draws deeply from mindfulness and meditation in her clinical and educational work. Nathalie supports trainees who want to develop outdoor sessions, groups, retreats, or an authentic nature-informed professional identity, including the practical and business questions that can arise along the way.
Specialty: Seasonal groups · Outdoor and virtual therapy · Mindfulness and retreats · Practice development
Renee Vanderstelt
Renee Vanderstelt is a Certified Nature-Informed Art Therapist whose work centers on children and adolescents. She combines nature connection with art, movement, play, storytelling, and developmentally appropriate expressive practices to support emotional regulation, self-esteem, grief processing, and healthy coping. Renee also designs nature-informed group experiences that encourage creativity, connection, and emotional expression in supportive outdoor and garden settings.
Specialty: Children and adolescents · Art and expressive therapy · Grief and loss · Play-based practice
Tim Ayd
Timothy Ayd is a Nature-Informed Therapy practitioner and youth group leader with experience supporting young people and adults through nature-based programming. His areas of focus include anxiety, grief, trauma recovery, emotional resilience, and somatic awareness. Tim brings outdoor experience, Mental Health First Aid training, and a grounded, strengths-based approach to helping trainees develop safe and meaningful nature-informed activities for groups and individuals.
Specialty: Youth programming · Anxiety and grounding · Grief and trauma · Outdoor group facilitation
Courtney Glickman
Courtney Glickman is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, group practice owner, and professor at The George Washington University. Her work brings together nature-informed therapy, play, expressive arts, and body-based approaches for children, adolescents, and adults. Courtney also has experience designing and facilitating nature-informed groups and supports trainees in developing creative, developmentally responsive, and trauma-informed applications of the work.
Specialty: Children and adolescents · Play therapy · Expressive arts · Trauma-informed groups
Marie Burgess
Marie Burgess is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Certified Nature Informed Therapist, and private practice owner in Central Maryland. Her work focuses on trauma, grief, neurodivergent care, and affirming support for LGBTQ+ clients. Marie integrates nature with play, social-emotional learning, and strengths-based clinical care, and she brings experience creating inclusive workshops and community experiences for children, adults, and families.
Specialty: Trauma and prolonged grief · Neurodivergent and affirming care · Children and play therapy · Workshops and community programs
Rachel Oppenheimer
Rachel Oppenheimer is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who integrates nature-informed, trauma-informed, and attachment-informed approaches in her work with anxiety, grief, life transitions, body image, and eating disorder recovery. She has designed and facilitated retreats, hiking groups, backpacking experiences, and professional presentations. Rachel also incorporates mindfulness, sensory awareness, meditation, and sound-based practices to support presence, embodiment, and nervous-system regulation.
Specialty: Anxiety and nervous-system support · Grief and transitions · Body image and eating recovery · Groups, retreats, and mindfulness
Tania Lanning
Tania Lanning is an integrative wellness therapist, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, licensed massage therapist, registered yoga teacher, and private practice owner. Her work blends Nature Informed Therapy with somatic awareness, gentle movement, mindfulness, creativity, ritual, and nervous-system education. Tania supports people navigating anxiety, grief, illness, pain, motherhood, relationship changes, and other major transitions, and she brings extensive experience facilitating workshops, retreats, guided walks, and group experiences.
Specialty: Somatic and integrative wellness · Anxiety and regulation · Grief, illness, and life transitions · Workshops and retreats
Frequently Asked Questions
