Therapies are an integral part of the 28-day residential program with New Life and are exclusively available to our clients during their stay.
Sessions are designed to support your recovery journey and are not offered as standalone or external services.
The listed technology can be included upon request.
Healing Wilderness Programme at New Life
The Wilderness Programme at New Life is a powerful, nature-based therapy experience designed to reconnect clients with the natural world and, in doing so, with themselves. Offered across select locations, including Cape Town, Reykjavik, Bali, and Florianópolis, this program utilises the healing power of the outdoors to promote emotional resilience, clarity, and inner peace.
Guided by experienced facilitators and trauma-informed therapists, the programme includes guided hikes, forest bathing, beach meditations, outdoor yoga, and mindfulness exercises in stunning, untouched landscapes. Nature becomes both the setting and the co-therapist, offering reflection, perspective, and calm.
Spending time in nature has been proven to lower cortisol levels, regulate the nervous system, and reduce anxiety and depression. Clients learn to ground themselves through movement, stillness, and sensory awareness, thereby distancing themselves from digital distractions and external pressures.
This immersive therapeutic approach is particularly beneficial for those recovering from burnout, trauma, or emotional disconnection, as it fosters trust, introspection, and reconnection to the body and breath.
At New Life, the Wilderness Programme is more than an activity—it is a sacred return to presence, where healing unfolds naturally among mountains, forests, oceans, and skies. It is where transformation begins—gently, quietly, and powerfully.
The New Life Wilderness Programme
Returning to Nature. Rediscovering Self.
In an increasingly fast-paced, overstimulated world, many people find themselves disconnected from their inner selves, their bodies, and the natural rhythms of life. At New Life, we offer an antidote to this disconnection through our transformative programme, a guided, therapeutic journey into the natural world designed to help clients reconnect, reclaim presence and clarity.
Whether recovering from addiction, burnout, emotional trauma, or chronic stress, immersion in nature can be profoundly restorative. The Wilderness Programme is a core experiential therapy offered at select New Life locations, including Cape Town, Reykjavik, Bali, Florianópolis, Dubai and Marbella, tailored to each destination’s unique natural environment.
Why Nature Heals and Reconnect.
The healing power of nature is ancient, intuitive, and backed by science. Numerous studies show that spending time outdoors can:
Reduce cortisol and stress hormones
Improve heart rate variability and sleep quality
Regulate mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
Enhance creativity, problem-solving, and cognitive clarity
Foster emotional regulation and inner calm
Strengthen connection to self and others
Nature encourages slowness, stillness, and reflection, providing the ideal setting for personal transformation.
The Wilderness Programme: Step-by-Step Overview
Pre-Trip Preparation and Intention Setting
Before stepping into the wild, clients are supported in preparing emotionally, physically, and mentally for the experience.
Therapeutic Briefing: Each participant meets with their therapist or coach to explore the intention behind their programme journey—whether it’s grounding, emotional release, self-discovery, or overcoming fear.
Logistics and Gear: Clients are equipped with comfortable clothing, walking shoes, hydration tools, and journals. All necessary supplies are provided based on the destination and terrain.
Personalised Planning: The experience is adapted based on the client’s mobility, comfort level, emotional readiness, and goals. This journey is never about pushing limits, but about meeting the client where they are.
Grounding and Arrival into Nature
Upon arrival in the outdoors setting—be it a coastal trail, mountain reserve, forest, or volcanic plain—the first step is to arrive fully.
Sensory Awakening: Facilitators guide clients to tune into their surroundings through breathwork, barefoot walking, or simply observing sounds and sights. This helps shift the nervous system from alert to receptive.
Opening Circle (for group sessions): Participants set shared intentions and build trust through open dialogue and silent reflection.
This step is crucial to begin the descent from the mental to the somatic, from doing to being.
Movement in Nature
Clients engage in mindful walking, hiking, or light physical activity tailored to their fitness level and the environment. The goal is not endurance, but presence.
Slow Hiking: Clients are encouraged to walk in silence, paying attention to breath, body sensations, and the landscape.
Body Awareness Practices: Instructors may integrate light stretching or yoga to help clients feel grounded in their bodies.
Breath and Observation: Focused breathing, tree gazing, or mindful pauses bring the client deeper into the moment.
The rhythm of movement combined with natural surroundings soothes the nervous system and opens space for insight and emotional release.
Therapeutic Interventions
Sessions are guided by therapists or trauma-informed facilitators who offer gentle structure and therapeutic practices along the way.
Guided Reflection: Clients may be asked reflective prompts—“What am I carrying?”, “What am I releasing?”, or “Where do I feel most free?”
Ecotherapy Techniques: These may include building nature altars, rock stacking for intention-setting, or nature-based metaphors to explore emotional themes.
Solo Time: Clients are offered moments of solitude in safe, designated areas to simply sit with themselves, journal, or reflect quietly.
This is where the outdoors becomes not just a backdrop but a co-therapist, offering wisdom, mirroring, and healing without words.
Emotional Processing and Release
Being immersed in the natural world creates a safe space for clients to feel and express what may be suppressed in their daily lives.
Emotional Catharsis: Some clients may experience tears, laughter, or deep emotional breakthroughs. Others may feel grounded and calm.
Somatic Integration: Clients are encouraged to notice where emotions arise in the body and to utilise the environment (e.g., placing hands on a tree or lying on the ground) as tools to release and regulate emotions.
Supportive Facilitation: All emotions are welcomed. Our team holds space with compassion and non-judgement, helping clients process safely.
Integration and Sharing
The final stage of the journey focuses on integration and anchoring insights before returning to everyday life.
Closing Circle (for group sessions): Participants share reflections, insights, and shifts in a safe, confidential space.
Personal Journaling: Clients write about their experience, what they are leaving behind, and what they are taking forward.
Re-entry Support: Facilitators guide clients through breathwork or light movement to support the transition back to normal sensory input.
This closing phase helps seal the experience emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Follow-Up and Ongoing Integration
The impact of the outdoors programme often unfolds long after the experience. At New Life, we support this by:
Therapy Sessions Post-programme: Clients discuss their experiences with therapists to explore meaning and apply it to their broader recovery journey.
Creative Expression: Clients may be invited to express their journey through art, movement, or writing.
Daily Nature Practices: Incorporating grounding techniques like walking barefoot or spending 10 minutes outdoors each morning.
Photographic Keepsakes: When appropriate, clients may receive a photo journal or poem inspired by the journey as a tangible memory of growth.
Global Locations, Unique Wilderness
Each New Life destination offers a unique experience that reflects the land’s spirit and therapeutic potential:
Marbella: Andalusian hills, sea cliffs, and olive groves that offer restoration, solitude, and beauty.
Dubai: Sweeping desert dunes, starlit skies, peace, and a connection to ancient rhythms.
Bali: Rice fields, waterfalls, and jungle paths rich with spiritual energy and sensory awakening.
Florianópolis: Atlantic rainforest trails, dune walks, and hidden lagoons that inspire freedom and embodiment.
Cape Town: Coastal cliffs, fynbos-covered mountains, and ocean breezes for grounding and release.
Reykjavik: Glacial paths, mossy lava fields, and geothermal springs that invoke stillness, awe, and renewal.
Each experience is designed to honour local culture, terrain, and nature-based wisdom.
Who Is This Programme For?
The outdoors programme is particularly beneficial for clients experiencing:
Disconnection from self, body, or emotions
Burnout and emotional fatigue
Trauma and PTSD
Overwhelmed by digital or urban lifestyles
Difficulty processing emotions verbally
Anxiety or existential distress
No prior outdoor experience is required. The programme is gentle, guided, and designed for all levels of fitness and comfort.
Healing in Nature’s Embrace
At New Life, the outdoors programme isn’t about escaping the world—it’s about returning to what is real, simple, and essential. It is where therapy meets nature and where transformation is not forced but invited, witnessed, and supported by the land itself.
In the stillness of a forest, the rhythm of waves, or the quiet of a mountain path, clients find a sense of connection. They learn to listen—not just to nature, but to themselves. And in doing so, they rediscover a sense of belonging, purpose, and peace.
Here’s What Sets Us Apart:
Licensed Creative Therapists: Our team includes certified art therapists, music therapists, and expressive arts facilitators with deep clinical and creative experience.
Tailored, Luxury Setting: Sessions take place in tranquil, beautifully designed spaces—whether it’s our sound dome, our private studio, or the gardens.
Whole-Person Integration: Creative sessions are woven into a comprehensive plan that includes psychology, somatic therapies, nutrition, and spiritual care.
Confidential and Compassionate: Our clients are often high-profile individuals seeking deep work in a discreet environment. We deliver results with grace.
Real Results: We’ve witnessed incredible transformations—clients rediscovering their voices, healing long-held wounds, and reclaiming joy.
Community and Safety: Group experiences like drum circles, expressive workshops, and healing sound baths help clients reconnect with others in powerful, wordless ways.
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CLIENTS
Expert Recovery Services Available. Contact Us Now!
Address: New Life (Dynamic Executive Recovery) Calle Lirios Los Num 2, Torreblanca Del Sol, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain.
Email: info@newlife.rehab
Spain: (+34) 900 752 011
Bali: (+62) 361 300 109
Brazil: (+55) 1151785894
Dubai: (+971) 8000 120377
Iceland: (+354) 5395185
South Africa: (+27) 212008424
