Why Cancer Counselling

Counselling charity We Hear You (WHY) are once again offering ‘WHYoutdoors’ nature connection courses this Spring, aimed at people living with and beyond cancer. The next courses start on Wednesday 21st April at Combe Grove in Bath and Thursday 22nd April at Chesterblade Hills near Shepton Mallet and run for six weeks.

The courses follow a 2019 collaboration with Bristol-based nature therapy specialists The Natural Academy, who have trained four of WHY’s counselling team to deliver the course. Groups meet once a week in a beautiful natural setting and take part in guided individual and group activities, all aimed at increasing a connection with nature to improve wellbeing.

WHY counsellor and WHYoutdoors facilitator Barbara Gonzalez says: “WHYoutdoors aims to resource participants with the skills, knowledge and experiential awareness of how their relationship to nature can be a supportive resource and, importantly, how this relationship can be reciprocal. The courses help participants to develop a closer relationship to nature, deepen their own self-awareness and share their experiences with peers making meaningful and supportive connections. Many thanks to the teams at Chesterblade Hills and Combe Grove for allowing us to use the beautiful Green Heart Space for this important work.”

Feedback for previous WHYoutdoors courses includes:

“A truly wonderful, enlightening and beautiful experience…it has changed my life.”

“The facilitators took us on an exploration of ourselves using nature as a tool which was so simple yet life changing for me.”

"I’ve been totally inspired by it. Simple things like listening to the rain, two years ago I would have been sat at the laptop and I wouldn’t have even noticed it, I wouldn’t have taken the time to go out and stand in it, which I would now because it’s priceless. It was a gift to have the time to be outside, be peaceful, be alone in good company, I couldn’t wait to get there every week."

To find out more and refer yourself for the next WHYoutdoors courses or any of We Hear You’s services for people affected by cancer and life-threatening conditions, call 01373 455255 or email info@wehearyou.org.uk.

To hire the Green Heart Space at Chesterblade Hills, visit https://chills.org.uk/. Infomation about Combe Grove's facilities is at https://combegrove.com/