ANIMA VIRIDIS
Restorative Ecotherapy and Nature-based Facilitation
About
My name is Max and I run ANIMA VIRIDIS
Anima viridis means “Green soul” in Latin.
And we believe that everything, in Nature, has soul.
That everything, literally, is ‘animated’ – or ‘ensouled’ – which includes us.
We believe that, by immersing ourselves in the Soul of Nature,
we can get more in touch with our own inner Nature – and Soul.
I am a fully trained eco-psychologist and nature-based facilitator. I qualified at the Natural Academy, UK, in 2022. I also have a lot of experience as nature and mountain guide: I have been guiding in the Dolomites (Italian Alps) – and in some other outstanding natural locations around Italy – for many years. Additionally, I am also a botanical guide in Kew Gardens, England.
As an eco-psychology practitioner and nature-based facilitator, I am based part-time in Kew, SW London, and part-time in the Italian Alps (mostly in the Dolomites’ region – but sometimes in other areas too, such as the Aosta Valley).
I am also a co-founder of MUSE (Mediterranean Unitive School of Ecopsychology). [Please note: a separate site for the school is currently under construction; when ready, the link will appear here].
What are my main sources of inspiration?
I have a long history of working with therapeutic approaches, in different ways: before the Natural Academy, I have been training in Transpersonal and Jungian Psychology, both with CCPE (Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education) in London, and online with CAJS (Centre for Applied Jungian Studies), as well as via the personal study of James Hillman’s archetypal psychology. My individual path integrates these sources with alchemy, which I consider the original, ‘native’ approach to wisdom and deep ancestral/esoteric knowledge in Europe. In fact, I see alchemy precisely as the true native European tradition. The model that I am developing includes all these sources, with the assistance of the alchemical colours, imagery, and phases of transformation, which also integrate the traditional concept of “medicine wheel”, as well as Plotkin’s “Map of the Psyche” (from Wild Mind, which, together with Soulcraft, is another main source of inspiration for this work). The fundamental parable of alchemy is centred around themes of transformation, and in my sessions, I work a lot with these metaphors of transformation. Nevertheless, by its very nature, this is an ever-evolving model, which keeps being refined as I go along.
Another major area revolves around dreamwork. I have a long experience of working with dreams, using an active imagination technique which I have first encountered at CCPE, then honed through the years. I also have a regular contemplative practice, which harks back to the mystical and contemplative streams which appear in all major religions and spiritual traditions, which I am integrating in my work and applying to nature-based facilitation too.
I am a writer and a translator, and I have been involved, over the years, in a number of writing projects. I am particularly fascinated by the theme of the identity of places, and what they convey at energetic level. This is a theme that spills into eco-psychology, especially in terms of what places ask for (often in terms of healing), and how they can be worked with, by listening and attending to their stories. The essence of a place, or their unheard stories, can interact with us (often in unconscious ways), so that our journey – also of healing – interacts and intertwines with that of the places where we live or have lived. Additionally, in the field of eco-psychology, a major endeavour has been the translation into Italian of Andy Fisher’s seminal work, Radical Ecopsychology.
Finally, my first degree was in History of Art, which allows me to add an extra layer to eco-therapeutic approach, especially in the work I do in Italy, where any work of an eco-psychologic nature must take into account the appreciation of art and heritage. This plays a major role in the budding Ecopsychology school I am co-founding with friend and colleague Ilaria Ponzi, aptly called MUSE (there is a separate website for this, in the process of being created; when ready, the link will appear here).