At Clark Counseling Services, LLC, our work is grounded in the belief that mental health is best understood and nurtured through a holistic lens. Beyond symptom reduction, true wellness involves cultivating practices that support the mind, body, and spirit in a sustainable way. In that spirit, I am introducing a new educational blog series based on a framework I’ve developed called Rooted and Rising.

Rooted and Rising is a conceptual model designed to help individuals reconnect with themselves and their environment. It integrates principles from existential psychology, mindfulness-based interventions, ecotherapy, and wellness science into a practical structure for daily living. The framework emphasizes that health is not only about managing distress but about actively fostering vitality, authenticity, and resilience.

At its core, Rooted and Rising proposes that well-being can be cultivated through intentional engagement across six interconnected domains:

• Nature Connection – engaging with the natural world to reduce stress, regulate emotions, and foster perspective.

• Movement and Physical Activity – recognizing the mind body connection and supporting mental health through physical care.

• Intellectual Curiosity – promoting cognitive growth and engagement as protective factors against stagnation and decline.

• Pleasure and Play – integrating joy and creativity into daily life as buffers against burnout and disconnection.

• Social Connection – acknowledging our deep need for belonging, relationship, and community in fostering psychological health.

• Spiritual and Existential Practices – grounding ourselves in meaning, purpose, and connection to something larger than the self.

Each of these domains is supported by research in psychology, psychiatry, and related health sciences. Together, they form a comprehensive, evidence-informed approach to well-being that can be adapted to each individual’s unique context and values.

This series will serve as a structured exploration of these six domains. Each upcoming post will take a deeper dive into one area, reviewing its theoretical underpinnings, highlighting relevant clinical and research findings, and offering examples of how individuals can integrate these practices into their daily lives.

My goal is not to present Rooted and Rising as a prescriptive model, but as an accessible and flexible framework: a guide for cultivating intentional practices that can lead to greater psychological resilience and authentic living.

In the next installment, we will begin with the foundational role of nature connection. Exploring how time in natural environments promotes psychological health and what the research tells us about its clinical applications.