In-Person in Santa Fe, NM
Are you wanting to make a deeper connection with nature and explore eco-therapy? Nature is a great healer and mirror of the soul. I specialize in eco-therapy (nature therapy) and meet with you outdoors. Mindfulness, earth-based ceremony and somatic therapy are all part of what I offer.
Client Focus
Session Format: Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult, Senior, Young Adult
Demographic Expertise: Asian, Buddhist, Christian, Men, Native American, Persons with Disabilities, Women clients.
Languages: English
Treatment Approach
- Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
- Contemplative Psychotherapy
- Experiential
- Multicultural
- Person-Centered
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Somatic
- Transpersonal
Approach Description: I integrate ecotherapy, psychotherapy, deep listening, mindfulness, somatic therapy, and earth-based ceremonial healing and rites of passage. I strive to meet you, with kindness and compassion in an atmosphere of mindfulness and emotional safety. We will work as a team to make decisions about your goals and the modalities and methods that may be used. The skills I teach you and the specific healing techniques that we use together will depend on your issues, where you are in your process, and what you feel drawn to.
I bring emotional intelligence, mindful presence, and kind, gentle compassion with a keen intellect and articulate use of language. I have extensive knowledge of psychology, neuroscience, and ecology that I bring to the experience, as well as tapping into a lifetime of experience and personal growth and decades of spiritual practice. My work is informed as well by the wisdom of indigenous earth-based cultures and of the natural world and all its beings.
Our overall approach will be holistic, touching on mind, body, Spirit, and Nature. I will shine a light on your resources and strengths. I will acknowledge and honor whatever your cultural background is. I encourage my clients to tap into whatever spiritual or religious resources they may possess.
I love to integrate working with Nature into my counseling and therapeutic work. I am passionate about supporting others in getting more connected to themselves and Nature, in accessing the wellsprings of healing, and in finding genuine meaning and purpose that is enlivening.
Education & Credentials
Chris Chappell MA, MS, LMHC
- Male
- License # 0135661
- Licensed in New Mexico
- Practicing Since 2010
Education: MA in Counseling from a graduate school that integrates spirituality into counseling.
200 hour certificate in Eco-therapy.
Post-graduate training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Trauma Resiliency Model, somatic therapy, Solution-focused Brief Therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Finances
Fees
- Average Session Fee 110
- Affordable sliding scale therapy: apply if you may be eligible.
- Normal full price for a 90 minute session is $140. I trust you to assess what you can truly afford for my service on a range down to a typical minimum of $70 for 90 minutes.
- Out of Network
- I am able to provide you with a superbill (receipt) for my services that you can then submit to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement. You are responsible to communicate with your insurance company about your out-of-network coverage.
Chris Chappell Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
- Available In-Person in Santa Fe, NM
My practice is unusual in that I meet with clients outdoors, where nature becomes an important partner, in the work of healing. I work with people who love nature and are feeling stuck somehow or wanting to grow. My clients are also often, but not always, spiritually oriented. Issues that I work with include grief and loss, challenging life transitions including career change, stress, anxiety, depression, spiritual crisis, religious wounding/abuse, trauma, self-esteem, caregiver burnout and dementia care consulting, and relationship issues.
Are you going through a time of intense change and struggling to keep steady and balanced in the process? I can teach you tools that will help you manage stress and anxiety in order to stay more balanced. Mindfulness is a powerful practice that will support our therapeutic relationship and can help you rewire your brain and be more in the present moment and accepting of what life brings your way. Learning to not take your thoughts so seriously, to not identify with them, is a powerful antidote to a variety of mental health issues including depressed mood, worry/anxiety, and low self-esteem. The practices of gratitude and self-compassion complement mindfulness, building new mental pathways toward more positivity in your life.
It seems so many people in this time are in transition. I have been through many myself and consider myself a bit of an expert on what might be called the mid-life transition (sometimes pejoratively called a mid-life crisis). If you are in mid-life transition, whether it feels like a crisis or not, I can help you be more graceful in the process. That's not to say it won't be messy and difficult! But you can learn to have more ease in it through mindfulness, ceremony, and being able to speak of it freely with someone who understands and has some relevant life experiential wisdom.
If your nervous system seems out of whack, too amped up, or too reactive, I can help you rewire it with somatic therapy, a gentle guided practice of awareness of inner body sensations. Somatic therapy is very helpful with reducing stress, anxiety, and the residues of trauma. By becoming more mindful of your body, you can learn to read it's signals in a way that is healthy for your body, mind and soul.
If you are needing more clarity or empowerment to move forward through uncertain waters, earth-based ceremonies that I facilitate can be a powerful adjunct to more traditional psychotherapy. The combination of focused intention, prayer, gratitude, ritual and nature leads to surprising revelations, breakthroughs, insights and empowerment. It can help you find your path or steady you on the path you have already chosen.
As an eco-therapist and a culturally aware counselor, I am especially welcoming of clients who are feeling grief, anxiety or anger about ecological and social issues - there are really good reasons for these emotions in today's world! I get it and I will listen in a way that validates these experiences as legit and helps you learn to manage them, rather than trying to fix you. You are not broken, the world is broken and needs healing. Caring about others and the world these days is not easy. Having someone who understands and can listen can be helpful in navigating these changing times.
I primarily see clients in their late teens, young adults, mid-life adults, and elders. Because I see people outdoors and also practice somatic therapy and nature ceremonies, my sessions are typically 90 minutes in length (50 minutes is just not enough for both the talking and listening that needs to happen, and whatever experiential we engage with). We meet at a local trailhead, park or other outdoor space, even your backyard if you choose. The meeting location may change from week to week depending on your preferences and my schedule. I will communicate to you the meeting location at least one day in advance of the session. Depending on what is going on with you, for ongoing therapy, I will see you either once a week or every other week.
I also do sessions that are not psychotherapy, but only earth-based ceremony or forest bathing (mindfulness in nature). For these therapeutic practices alone, there is no ongoing relationship required and we can schedule only one or a few sessions at your convenience.
I welcome you to check out a different kind of therapy, with Nature as a healing partner! Come and take a walk and talk with me.