Susan Abookire Leads 11 Doctors in Forest Therapy to Push Nature-Based Medical Training
Updated
Updated · NPR · May 11
Susan Abookire Leads 11 Doctors in Forest Therapy to Push Nature-Based Medical Training
1 articles · Updated · NPR · May 11
Eleven doctors and medical students left a Boston hospital for a two-hour forest therapy session in Arnold Arboretum led by Dr. Susan Abookire, a physician and certified guide.
Abookire says medical training rarely includes nature-based medicine, even though hundreds of studies link time in nature to lower anxiety and gains in immunity, sleep, cardiovascular health and brain function.
The session used structured exercises—watching movement, exploring textures and guided reflection—to help stressed clinicians step away from charts, monitors and ambulance sirens.
Abookire, after more than 20 years in hospital leadership, wants participants to become ambassadors who bring forest therapy to colleagues and patients.
She is among only a handful of U.S. doctors adding forest bathing to medical education, framing it as a complement to high-tech care rather than an alternative.
As nature becomes medicine, how can hospitals integrate this therapy without easy access to a forest?
Is forest therapy a cure for physician burnout or a band-aid on a broken healthcare system?