Taming the Anxious Brain with Nature

Brain-Based Anxiety Treatment Through a Nature-Informed Lens

Treat Anxiety at Its Source

Anxiety may begin with an automatic alarm response in the amygdala or develop through cortex-based patterns such as worry, rumination, and anticipation. Effective treatment begins with understanding which pathway is driving the client’s symptoms.

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Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan will translate this neuroscience into practical, client-friendly strategies. Participants will also learn how nature can support nervous-system regulation, attention restoration, cognitive flexibility, and resilience.

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These approaches can be used outdoors, inside a traditional office, or through telehealth.

Practical Tools for Anxiety Treatment

Participants will learn how to:​

• Distinguish amygdala-based anxiety from cortex-based anxiety.

• Explain the neuroscience of anxiety in language clients can understand.

• Use breathing, movement, mindfulness, sensory awareness, and exposure to regulate the amygdala.

• Address worry, rumination, anticipation, and other cortex-driven patterns.

• Incorporate nature into anxiety treatment indoors, outdoors, and through telehealth.

• Help clients use nature as an ongoing resource for coping and resilience.

What We Will Cover

Understanding the Anxious Brain

Explore neuroplasticity, the fight-flight-freeze response, and the two neural pathways that create anxiety.

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Calming the Amygdala

Use experiential approaches, including breathing, movement, mindfulness, exposure, and sensory-based nature practices to retrain automatic anxiety responses.

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Retraining the Cortex

Help clients respond differently to worry, uncertainty, rumination, obsessive thinking, and anxious anticipation.

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Nature and Nervous-System Regulation

Learn how natural environments can reduce stress reactivity, restore attention, and support emotional regulation.

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Integrated Treatment

Consider how psychotherapy, nature-informed practices, and psychotropic medications may interact with neuroplasticity and recovery.

Designed for Mental Health Professionals

This training is appropriate for counselors, social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, occupational therapists, psychiatric professionals, graduate-level clinicians, and other behavioral health professionals.

Prior experience providing therapy outdoors is not required.

Note for Non-Clinical Helping Professionals

This training contains clinical concepts and treatment strategies but may also be valuable for related helping professionals. If you are not a licensed mental health clinician, we strongly recommend completing a Mental Health First Aid training before attending or soon afterward.

Participants should apply all practices within their professional role, training, and scope of practice. Continuing education credit may not apply to every profession or license type.