Who We Are

Our Partner Organizations

HNCS embraces an ecological-systems approach that sees individuals as inseparable from their families, cultures, communities, and environments. At the heart of our work is a simple truth: we heal in relationship—with ourselves, with others, and with the Earth. Our skilled team partners with Nature as an active co-facilitator in the therapeutic process, helping people reconnect with their inner wisdom, resilience, and sense of belonging.

Since 2011, HNCS has provided nature-based therapy to children, youth, and adults, growing into a team of 24 therapists who now support over 900 families each year. As a registered charity, we are committed to making this powerful approach accessible to everyone—especially those facing financial or systemic barriers. HNCS is committed to the ongoing work of decolonizing our work and meaningful reconciliation, and has built strong partnerships with the local First Nations to collaborate on culturally sensitive services. We are grateful to live and work in the unceded Coast Salish Territories, specifically the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, the WSÁNEC nations, the Cowichan Tribes, the Squamish Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and the Musqueam Nation. 

 As a national leader and innovator in the field of Nature-Based Therapy (NBT), HNCS is dedicated to the promotion of NBT as a key mental health promotion strategy across Canada. For over a decade we have been mentoring and supervising graduate students in becoming clinical counselors through a nature-based lens, and have been developing and leading NBT trainings for mental health professionals across Canada and beyond, since 2020.  Learn more about our work in our book “Nature-Based Therapy: Working Outdoors with Children, Youth and Families” (2019, Harper, Segal & Rose), and join us in reimagining mental health—rooted in connection, grounded in nature, and inspired by hope.

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Rooted in the integrative therapeutic work of Katie Asmus, MA, LPC, BMP, SNTI has evolved into a collective and collaborative educational and therapeutic ecosystem dedicated to rippling wellness outward. For over three decades, our faculty have guided individuals, couples, and communities in somatic trauma healing, nature-based therapy, adventure therapy, and rites of passage work. At the heart of our institute is the belief that relationship with the natural world invites us to embrace the complexity of our human experience and, through slowing down and listening deeply, we open the doorway to compassion, connection, resilience and authentic belonging.

Through individual and group services, professional trainings, and rites of passage work, SNTI supports people in cultivating embodied presence, nervous system regulation, and meaningful connection to self, others, and the living world. Our offerings range from therapy and retreats to comprehensive trainings for professionals. With decades of university-level teaching, conference presentations, and custom programs, our faculty integrate clinical expertise, experiential learning, and lived practice collaborating with Nature. Collectively, we have trained tens of thousands of therapists, coaches, and healers worldwide, equipping them with somatic and nature-based skills to bring into their communities.

We are committed to excellence, ethical practice, and embodied integrity. Our intention is to create spaces of inclusion, curiosity, and care, where practitioners learn to trust their inner wisdom while drawing on the resources of body, earth, and community. In partnership with Human-Nature Counselling Society in Canada, we are honored to co-create and offer the international Nature-Based Therapy Certification—advancing the field of nature-based therapy worldwide, rooted in relationship and grounded in practice.

At SNTI, we also recognize that we live and practice on colonized lands of the Cheyenne, Ute, and Arapahoe People, and that psychotherapy itself has roots in systems shaped by dominance and oppression. We invite awareness of our relationships with land, ancestors, and the more-than-human world, knowing that the experience of nature-connection is unique for each person based on these factors. Our commitment is to ongoing education, reflection and embodied action that align our work with integrity, compassion, and justice.