Dr. Theresa Sweeney, Eco-Art Therapist and wildlife artist, did not need a teacher, class, or book to discover her passions for art and animals. They were innate. Her first painting, an oil portrait of a kitten done when she was eight, foreshadowed what would become her life’s pursuit - using art to help people reconnect with Nature.
Theresa Sweeney has a lifelong connection with nature and its healing possibilities. She earned her MS and Ph.D. in Applied Ecopsychology from Akamai University, in Hilo, Hawaii, and the Doctor of Education from San Juan de la Cruz in Costa Rica.
Dr. Sweeney is a renowned Ecopsychologist and Consultant on a mission to help reconnect people and businesses with the restorative, healing powers of the Earth. She teaches that people are part of Nature and shows that many of our problems are the result of our having separated ourselves from its intelligent ways. Sweeney helps us learn to listen to the songs of the Earth and then apply those messages to our everyday lives. She developed a unique approach, combining art and nature activities to promote self-discovery and well-being. Like nature, images facilitate the surfacing of a chain of subconscious emotions and memories. It is often easier for people to connect with their deeply underlying, internally hidden beliefs through the art or nature experience than it is directly through verbal discussion alone.
Theresa authored and illustrated a book, Owl Winks and Forest Songs: Finding wellness through Nature’s wisdom, writes a reconnecting with Nature newspaper column, and is a contributor to Gatherings, an online Ecopsychology field journal. Her wildlife artwork is owned around the USA and has won numerous awards. She donated 30 original paintings to the Jack Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Jupiter, Fla. Dr. Sweeney is a volunteer speaker for local radio and various organizations and is currently serving as Dean of the Applied Ecopsychology Institute at Akamai.
