Meet Dan

‘’I’ve always been interested in how the world works and I’m passionate about understanding people. ‘’ Dan, placement student

I’m a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at Lancaster University, and my studies focus on the policy, leadership and service development side of clinical psychology, rather than the therapist chair role you might traditionally think of.

At Lancaster University there’s a big emphasis on reflective practice and thinking outside the box. As part of the Doctorate programme we’re encouraged to do a placement with a community organisation that’s benefiting people’s wellbeing, but maybe not in a traditional way.

When I stumbled across Northern Roots and it’s Natural Health Service on social media, I thought ‘this is amazing, no way is this a thing!’

I chose Northern Roots’ Natural Health Service for my placement because I wanted to see how nature can improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing, and also to feel closer to the Oldham community, as I have just moved here.

Northern Roots’ approach to supporting wellbeing is exactly what the world needs. It’s accessible, flexible and meets people where their at and it uses nature as a natural activator.

If you’re in a traditional service, like a GPs practice, you’re a bit more contained – which is nice for some people – but it can also feel colder and sterile. Whereas the Natural Health Service is more natural, not just because you’re in nature, but in terms of your own personality and who you can be.

While on my placement there hasn’t been one ‘average day’, it changes depending on what the world and nature provides.

‘’What runs through all of Northern Roots’ Natural Health Service is a sense of community, a sense of connection with other people and to nature.’’

What’s amazing is the values and ethos of the service itself, which is to do things slowly, to do things well, and to do things with care. Those values are important to me too, to slow down and let things take the time they need to, just like nature.

I’ve spent a lot of time with the Cancer Recovery group. From what I’ve heard, when going to [cancer treatment] services, people are reminded of ‘there’s something wrong with me’, or ‘I’m ill’. And it can contribute to a sense of identity of ‘I’m a person with cancer’ or ‘I’m a person who’s survived cancer’.

Whereas at Northern Roots people can just forget, from what I’ve seen of the group.

There’s that sense of shared connection with other people that are also going through similar things, which can be really valuable.

But I think there’s something about it being nature orientated that takes the blame away and puts things into perspective in terms of you are just one piece of a really, really big puzzle. And there’s something freeing about that, and it makes the world feel less heavy.

‘’I’ve learnt loads, and loads that I wasn’t expecting to. It’s more about what I’ve experienced and felt – it’s just so different here. It’s informal, freeing and flexible.’’

My next placement will be in a Public Health team. What I’ll take forward from my experiences at Northern Roots is a really strong reminder of the importance of community, nature connection and slowing down.

I’ll definitely come back to Northern Roots, potentially as a volunteer helping the Land Team, or potentially through a working relationship and helping project comes to fruition. That would be awesome particularly because it’s close to my community and what I love doing. This is exactly where I want to be.

I hope the Natural Health Service never loses its community feel, and that it stays true to its core values of slowing down and offering alternative to busy, disconnected lives.

There’s a lot of hope for seeing the service grow and become a normal path for people, for it to become more known and accessible. And for participants to become a part of how it’s delivered, and helping the service grow by osmosis, I think, is the word.