Sika Deer
Become an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide. Six months online, starting November 4th, 2027. Enrollment closes November 4th, 2027.
Check your local time for live sessions for this cohort
What this training guides you to be able to do confidently
Guide Forest Therapy walks for groups
Facilitate the ANFT Standard Sequence of invitations
Meet the requirements for ANFT certification
Join a global network of Certified Guides
Secure checkout. Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal accepted, in USD. Wilderness First Aid certification is arranged and paid separately.
$3,350.00
Regular price
6 x $560.00
6-Month Payment Plan
Nadine Mazzola
Amanda Yik
What you will learn during your training
Module 1 — What is Relational Forest Therapy?
You'll begin at the root of it all by learning about the story of how this practice came to be, and the values that hold it together. You'll learn to see any forest trail, garden, or local park with new eyes, discovering what makes a place ready to hold the kind of experience you'll soon be guiding others through.
Module 2 — The Standard Sequence & Liminal Space and Time
Here you'll learn the framework and methodology at the center of every walk you'll ever guide: a simple, elegant structure that opens space for relationship with the more than human world of nature.
Module 3 — Threshold of Incorporation
You'll learn the art of closing a walk well, including how to safely forage, brew, and serve tea as a way of bringing people gently home. It's one of the most beloved parts of the practice, and you'll leave this module ready to hold it yourself.
Module 4 — To Be a Guide
This is where the vocation becomes real. You'll come to understand what it truly means to guide, not as an expert with answers, but as someone who opens the door and lets the forest be the therapist.
Module 5 — Language for Relational Forest Therapy
Words shape experience more than we realize. You'll learn how to craft invitations that open possibility rather than close it down and you'll leave with a complete, confident introduction ready for your very first walk.
Module 6 — Co-emergence and Landscapes of Invitation
You'll discover how to let invitations arise naturally from the moment, rather than forcing them and you'll walk away with a rich library of tried-and-true invitations from guides before you, ready to use right away.
Module 7 — Sharing and Deep Listening
At the core of forest therapy guiding is the art of deep listening. You'll learn to hold space for others to be truly heard, a skill that will change not just how you guide, but how you show up in every relationship in your life.
Module 8 — Senses, Pathways to Relationship with Nature
You'll be invited to rediscover senses you may have forgotten you had, and to guide others in doing the same. This module is where the felt, embodied heart of Forest Therapy really comes alive.
Module 9 — Bioregional Learning& Relationship
You'll trace the hidden water lines connecting your own sit spot all the way to the sea — a beautiful way of discovering that you already belong to something much bigger than yourself.
Module 10 — Edges and Headroom
You'll come to see discomfort as an ally, not an obstacle, and you'll gather the research and language to speak confidently about the healing power of this work to participants, to skeptics, to anyone who asks.
Module 11 - Health Science in Forest Therapy
You will learn about the Health Science that supports this practice, how to find it and to follow the threads of your own curiosity. You will have access to a significant amount of research on the health benefits of this practice, both for humans and for forests.
Module 12 - Developing your Guiding Practice
You will learn and be inspired to reflect on how to develop your guiding practice into. Business, a community offering or how to integrate it into your existing work
What this transformational training can open up for you
When you complete the training, you become a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT), which is recognized as one of the founding, most established certification bodies in the field. In practical terms, you'll leave with: ANFT Certification, which allows you to use the title "Certified Forest Therapy Guide" and practice professionally under that credential. Listing in the ANFT Guide Directory, connecting you to a global network of guides and to potential clients searching for someone in your area. Proficiency in the ANFT sequence and methodology, the walk structure and set of invitations that guides use to open a relational, embodied experience of nature for others. Membership in a living community of practice — ongoing peer connection, continuing education opportunities, and a lineage of guides who support one another well beyond the training itself.
Part 1 - Online: Tuition for the 6-month online certification training is US $3,350.00 Students may opt to select a payment plan for tuition if full payment cannot be made upfront. Payment plans are for $560 per month over six months, $3,360.00 USD total, with the first payment of $560 serving as a deposit that will confirm your enrollment and reserve your space in the course. Part 2 - In-Person: The tuition for the four-day immersion is $495. It does not include travel, lodging, or meals. You will have two years from the completion of your core guide training to do the immersion. Payment for the immersion is made only upon registration for the immersion. There is no payment for immersion necessary at the start of Part 1, the 6-month online training.
8 to 12 hours each week between live meetings (on Zoom, which are recorded in the event you miss them), online course work (such as reading, videos, quizzes), and field work in nature (practicing invitations, sit spot, and walks)
There are only two requirements for joining: an ability to communicate semi-fluently in the language the course is being offered in and an enthusiasm for nature.
Please view our full Payment, Transfer, and Refund Policy here: https://anft.earth/payment-refund-policy/
Main live sessions are recorded. You can make-up less than half of those session and still be eligible for certification.
Yes! We have guides internationally who work in their own communities and travel to others to guide walks all over our beautiful Earth.
Please reach out to [email protected] with any specific questions.