Forest Therapy Certification Online

Become a Certified Forest Therapy Guide – From Anywhere in the World

A Deep, Guided Immersion: Rooted in Connection, Accessible from Home

A close-up of a natural outdoor scene with a pinecone, a white rock, a yellow flower, and green leaves on the ground.
Co-founders of Heartwood's forest therapy school

Heartwood’s forest therapy certification online offers a 12-week journey that is flexible yet profound, structured yet heart-centered. Designed for those who want to balance training with daily life, this pathway takes place entirely online, allowing you to cultivate a relational, embodied practice without leaving home.

Led by our seasoned instructors, you’ll receive live mentorship, personalized support, and a close-knit online community–ensuring you never walk this path alone.

Is Online Forest Therapy Training Your Ideal Pathway?

This certification is ideal for those who:

  • Want the freedom to learn from anywhere in the world

  • Need to balance training with work, family, or life commitments

  • Seek depth, connection, and authenticity (even in a virtual space)

  • Thrive in a structured online format that blends live interaction with self-paced study

  • Feel ready to weave nature connection into your daily life and work

If you feel called to guide others while honoring your own rhythm, this path will meet you where you are.

Your 12-Week Journey to Certification

This program is more than a course. It’s a layered journey of growth, connection, and practice. Each week, you’ll deepen your relationship with nature, your body, and your capacity to guide others with confidence and care.

What You Will Learn

mushrooms on forest floor in forest bathing forest
  • Techniques for guiding meditations in natural settings

  • How to hold space and facilitate group sharing with warmth and presence

  • Principles of trauma-informed, choice-centered guiding

  • How to work skillfully with all the senses, including interoception and intuition

  • The art of partnering with place as co-guide

  • Safety considerations and trail-selection essentials for outdoor facilitation

  • Rituals and tea practices that deepen gratitude and connection with the land

  • Ways to bring forest therapy into your community, profession, and everyday life

  • The roots, science, and wisdom traditions behind forest therapy

  • The evidence-based health benefits of nature connection

  • How to build a living, reciprocal relationship with the more-than-human world

  • Practices for grounding, nervous system regulation, and embodied guiding

  • Ways to align with nature’s rhythms—day and night, season and cycle

  • How to design forest therapy sessions using a trusted model

  • Skills for crafting sensory, nature-based invitations that inspire curiosity and connection

Requirements for Your Certification

Forest Therapy Guide Training Instructor in North Carolina forest

You will receive your Heartwood Forest Therapy Guide Certification upon completion of the following requirements:

  • Completion of 2 Nature Quests (2-hour and 4-hour)

  • Leading 2 Forest Therapy sessions (1:1 and group) with reflection

  • A Harvest Offering inspired by your Nature Quest practice

  • Successful demonstration in crafting and offering invitations (sensory prompts that foster presence and nature connection)

  • Attendance of at least 10 live classes and 2 forest therapy sessions

This is more than a certificate—it’s an initiation into a life of guiding others into presence, belonging, and healing with the natural world.

Upcoming Online CohortS & Investment

Investing in this training is an investment in your calling and in the communities you will serve.

Tuesdays, October 6 - December 15, 2026

12:00pm - 2:00pm ET

Graduation: Sunday, December 20 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm

goldenrod Cohort

Online Goldenrod Cohort Tuition: $1200 USD

Early Birds: Enroll by August 31—Save $100 on tuition cost listed below

(coupon applied automatically at checkout)

Payment Plan:

$1200

(3 payments of $400)

Pay in Full:

$1100
(Pay in full & save $100)

*Limited space per cohort.

*Limited number of partial scholarships available. Apply here.

Cedar Cohort

Tuesdays, January 12 - March 30, 2027

7:00pm - 9:00pm ET

plus live, virtual Forest Therapy Sessions on:

Sunday, January 24 | 3:00 - 4:30pm ET

Sunday, February 14 | 3:00 - 4:30pm ET

Sunday, February 28 | 3:00- 4:30pm ET

Online Cedar Cohort Tuition: $1200 USD

Early Birds: Enroll by December 1—Save $100 on tuition cost listed below

(coupon applied automatically at checkout)

Payment Plan:

$1200

(3 payments of $400)

Pay in Full:

$1100
(Pay in full & save $100)

*Limited space per cohort.

*Limited number of partial scholarships available. Apply here.


NBHWC Health & Wellness Coaches earn 26 Continuing Education Credits upon successful completion of this immersive training.

“I thank the two of you so much. Forest therapy has awakened parts of myself that were dormant, specifically it awakened the journey of self knowing in relationship to Nature. That was really deep for me and continues to be very alive. The relationship with Nature is so profound and I’m incredibly grateful for what this program has been and for what it will continue to be as an unfolding experience. Thank you! It’s been great!”

— Soleil Brigham

Need Help Choosing Your PATH?

Every guide’s path begins with a single step. Let’s explore together if our online training is the right fit for you.

Book a complimentary 15-minute discovery call with one of our lead instructors.