Online Forest Therapy Guide Certification
Deepen your nature connection and learn to guide—from home.
Become a fully Certified Forest Therapy Guide from home.
Are you looking for a professional training program that deepens your nature connection and empowers you to be a competent and confident forest therapy guide?
You’ve found it.
NEW FOR FALL 2025
OUR FIRST EVER “ONLINE RETREAT”
3.5 Days At-Home Retreat + 6 Week Practicum
Go on retreat with us - from home!
Learn all the skills you need to guide meaningful forest therapy sessions over the course of a 3.5 day, online retreat training experience followed by a 6-week practicum from home. Mirrored after our in-person program, each full day will feature a guided forest therapy session, breaktime, and teaching sessions.
Online Forest Therapy Guide
Certification Programs
Online Training Retreat
A New Learning Format:
3.5 Full Days Online Retreat + 6 Week Practicum
October 15 - November 23, 2025
Coming soon
January 2026
March 2026
Coming soon
June 2026
Coming Soon
"Without a doubt, your program does the best job of preparing guides for taking people out on a walk. The gradual release of responsibility and the live sessions where you model each skill really resonates with me. “
— Kathy Simulcik, Nature Connection Educator
Or are you a mental health or healthcare professional, educator, coach, clergy, or wellness practitioner who wants to learn how to skillfully integrate a nature modality into your practice or suite of offerings?
Our training is for you.
The Forest Therapy Guide Certification Program is also perfect if you simply want to strengthen your own nature connection and join an inspiring, supportive community of nature lovers while doing it.
Do you want to start on your path towards becoming a forest therapy guide?
“I wasn’t sure what to expect but the training looked like it would be fun. I wasn’t disappointed in the least. It turned out to not only be enjoyable but very rewarding as well. With a background in natural science, I really appreciated a different way of thinking about taking people out into the woods and how woods can affect them in a different way from what I’ve been used to in the past. I enjoyed this training very much.”
— Brian Fannon, PhD, Aquatic Biologist & Outdoor Educator
Your training takes place 100% online
with no in-person requirement
You will receive…
10 modules with weekly instructor-led classes
weekly nature connection practices
6-week mentored practicum
3 forest therapy walks
mentoring calls
resource library
community
lifetime access for FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guides
You will attend weekly classes and 3 forest therapy walks before entering into a mentored 6-week practicum. All classes and walks take place virtually via Zoom.
Each week a new online module opens and is accompanied by an instructor-led 75-minute live training. During the ‘live meetup,’ you will have the opportunity to join in discussion with our highly qualified instructors and your peers, bringing life to the online course materials.
You will also experience 3 virtual forest therapy walks during the program—2 instructor-led walks and 1 student-led walk where you will get hands-on practice.
During the 6-week practicum you'll have access to your instructors via Q&A group mentor calls.
Once certified, you’ll receive The Forest Therapy School’s collection of 100 invitations for use on your walks, a resources library of books, articles, websites, films, etc. to deepen your knowledge, access to research studies, and an Introduction to Forest Therapy slide presentation to share with to your community to grow your guiding practice.
In addition, you will receive an invitation to join our virtual community of Certified Forest Therapy Guides where you can connect, be inspired, and receive ongoing support.
As an FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guide, you receive lifetime access to our training guidebook, which means as we add to the program, you will have access to all the new training content.
Your Investment: $1895 USD
“What you will learn in the school is what is described in the course outline. You can trust that. However there is another benefit. The class is taught in a mindful manner with kindness, patience, and care for each individual. I am grateful for the class and the generosity of the teachers.”
— Jean Perkins, Photographer
The Curriculum
Whether you are taking this course for personal growth or to share the life-changing benefits of forest therapy with others, the curriculum is thoughtfully designed to give you a deeper understanding of the emerging field of forest therapy. You’ll walk away with the skills and confidence to guide participants in meaningful and restorative forest bathing experiences.
You will learn…
What it means to be a forest therapy guide
The history of forest therapy and forest bathing
The holistic benefits of the practice along with the science to back it up
Mindfulness in nature and embodiment practices
How to offer guided nature meditations
The importance of the senses in connecting to nature and ourselves
A reliable and trusted walk sequence for guiding your clients
How to craft nature-based invitations for client engagement
How to personally style a forest bathing walk
Group facilitation and effective communication skills
The psycho-spiritual dimension of the human-nature connection
Meet the Team
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Regan Stacey
LEAD INSTRUCTOR
"Regan is an artist with a scientist’s mind, and her work wonderfully marries the two. Deeply intuitive and sensitive, Regan immediately puts you at ease and provides the necessary space to allow you to show up fully as yourself.”
— Kylea Asher
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Leah Manuel
INSTRUCTOR
“Leah enters everything with her full heart and attention, bringing an infectiously positive energy to her work. Her personal commitment to growth, authenticity, justice, community engagement, and building strong, positive relationships is evident in everything she does.”
—Amanda Fong
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Lara Laskowski
INSTRUCTOR
“Lara’s affinity for the outdoors and nature makes her a symbiotic fit for leading people on a forest therapy journey. Her gentle approach helps to ease participants into this relaxing and holistic experience.”
— Jennifer O’Day Ashworth
Graduate a Certified Forest Therapy Guide and join a community of heart-centered guides across the globe.
We believe more guides are needed to do the important work of reconnecting humans to nature for the betterment of ourselves, all beings, and our planet, Earth.
The Forest Therapy School offers you a mindfulness-based, experiential learning journey on the path to becoming a forest therapy guide.
Our Forest Therapy Guide Certification Program is accredited by the International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance and the Continuing Professional Development Certification Service, designed to offer you an opportunity for self-development, deepening your relationship with nature through a sensory and embodied approach. Along the way, you are provided the tools necessary to step into your calling as a forest therapy or forest bathing guide.
After successfully completing the program, you’ll graduate a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through The Forest Therapy School and join a community of heart-centered guides across the globe.
For this reason, we designed a program that is effective and efficient, both in time and cost –creating a more accessible training than some of the other options out there.
Evolve in our educational program.
As a boutique school, our training program delivers a superb level of quality, personalized focus, and excellence.
We put our heart and soul into creating a nurturing and loving family atmosphere. You will be guided by passionate and dedicated instructors, who are also the school's founders. We deeply value our relationship with our students—a dedicated community of guides—each doing our part to reconnect humans with nature for the health and well-being of all beings.
We are in this work together!
“It was kismet when I came across The Forest Therapy School and my experience did not disappoint! Being part of the training program was wonderful and will have a lasting impact on my life, and that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t created The Forest Therapy School. Thank you so much for your guidance and your support.”
— Alison R., Social Worker
What Our Students Are Saying…
“I began this study as a way of connecting with like-minded people, and to get outside more. I have received so much more. You have opened gateways of engagement with the natural world I did not know. Your loving, wise and mindful guidance moved me along the path of deeper self-knowing, and a more profound way of breathing in the forest. I walk through life changed, understanding reciprocity in a new and embodied way. Thank you, I am forever grateful.”
— Joan Angarano, Counselor
“What a wonderful experience this was. My time with the program ended up coinciding with an unexpectedly hectic, hard couple of months in my life. I was worried it would derail me, but I felt supported throughout the journey. Truly thankful that y’all so graciously embodied the generosity of spirit, patience, and kindness we talked so much about in our training.”
— Dana C., Writer & Creative
“My time with The Forest Therapy School was a beautiful immersion into the practice of nature connection. The instructors were insightful and provided clear, experience-based, methods for helping others tune in, slow down, and recognize the wonder that surrounds them while in the natural world. The added bonus was my fellow classmates - together we effortlessly created community - these are women I feel I could reach out to any time I need a listening ear. Thank you for an amazing experience!”
— Heather H., Herbalist
