Meet Zae

LMFT & Ecotherapist

Zae (they/them) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who provides Ecotherapy. With 7 years of clinical experience, Zae has an eclectic approach to health and healing, making their therapeutic approach accessible to a wide variety of unique presenting problems. They encourage clients to practice gratitude, contemplation, self-compassion, and to stay attuned to their sense of imagination.

They are a naturalist whose interests in herbalism, bushcraft, and rewilding inform the breadth of clinical training they have. Zae specializes in treating PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Grief, Climate Anxiety, Conflict Management, Identity Formation, Parent-Child Relations, Communication/Relationship issues, and Spiritual Trauma.

Originally based in Chicago, IL, Wild Heart Therapies has migrated to Charlottesville, Virginia, to expand Ecotherapy services within the Blue Ridge Mountains.

A portion of profits are donated to the Monacan Nation to honor the original stewards of this land and their current-day livelihoods that continue to care for this amazing area.

LOVE OUR WILD

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Why Naturopathy

Why Choose Ecotherapy at Wild Heart Therapies

Meaning

With the rapid changes to culture and climate, finding meaning amongst grief is challenging. Ecotherapy provides the space to search for meaning in loss and wrestle with grief.

Ecosystems adapt to losses of its beloved plants and animals everyday making the theme of grief is innate in process of nature.

Value

Nature provides a space to deconstruct beliefs that do not foster growth and it provides lessons on how to cultivate enduring values. Among them are reciprocity, resiliency, and collaboration.

Transcendance

We tend to ask for more time and feel that there isn't enough of it, when really what we are craving is timelessness.

Within the stillness of nature a sense of timelessness helps regulate the body and provides the opportunity for insights that wouldn't otherwise be accessible.

Connection

With the routine and seasonal familiarity that develops throughout the process of Ecotherapy, it is inevitable that you will start to develop deeper relationships to the earth spots, plant allies, and fellow animals you encounter. These connections can aid in recovering and even immunizing you from the pressures of modern life.

Embodiment

In session, you will practice mindfully embodying all your senses.

This will sharpen your body's ability to take in and respond to the environment. Nature helps us strengthen our mind-body connection.

Belonging

Ecotherapy increases biophilia, and as you exercise being present in nature, you start to close the separation gap between you and the planet you live on.

Having a sense of belonging is about being human, one with a deeper bond to your habitat. This bond unfolds into a motivation to protect and aid the well-being of the creatures who live on this planet too.