Matija Samec

At the heart of my work is integrative therapy, with its broad understanding of people and nature. It guides my attention to each person’s experience, relationships and the environment they live in.

I empower professionals to bring nature into their work, lead forest bathing sessions and develop guided and self-guided forest therapy programmes. My research focuses on the interplay between individual, social and environmental factors, and on developing models that help explain it.

Therapeutic background

My interest in human relationships led me to study psychotherapy science and specialise in integrative psychotherapy. In 2013, I completed the theoretical and practical components of a four-year training programme in integrative therapy. This was where I first encountered forest therapy and nature-based approaches.

  • Integrative Therapy

    An integrative approach is the foundation of how I work. It guides me to understand bodily experience, emotions, thoughts and relationships in the context of each person’s life story.

  • Psychotherapeutic Science

    My studies in psychotherapy science at Sigmund Freud University give me a professional grounding for working with people and carefully assessing which techniques and activities suit their needs.

  • Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents

    I have completed a year of additional training in child and adolescent psychotherapy. It deepens my understanding of human development and the importance of early relationships, including in my work with adults.

Training for work in nature

Inspired by nature-based approaches, I began training with Forest Therapy Hub in 2023 to lead educational, recreational and therapeutic activities in natural settings.

  • Nature Connection Specialist Trainer

    My training as an FTHub-accredited Nature Connection Specialist Trainer helps me turn knowledge into clear steps and practical experiences that participants can bring into their own work.

  • Forest Therapy Practitioner

    This gives me a framework for choosing activities in nature to suit participants’ needs and agreed goals.

  • Forest Bathing Guide

    The training has strengthened my attention to the rhythm of a session, sensory experience and the space each person needs to explore in their own way.

  • Wild Blue Trainer

    I am trained in the Wild Blue method, which focuses on connecting with water and its natural surroundings. This broadens my knowledge of leading activities in different environments and guides me to pay close attention to each place and its conditions.

For safer experiences

  • First Aid Medic

    The knowledge and readiness to respond to an accident and call on appropriate help.

  • Outdoor Risk Management

    Additional training in recognising and managing risks during activities in natural settings.

  • Psychological First Aid

    A foundation in offering psychological support in times of crisis.

Other knowledge

  • Pilates mat instructor

    My past experience of teaching Pilates as meditation in movement has deepened my awareness of the body and my understanding of how seemingly simple physical practice can support profound change.

  • NLP Practitioner

    What I bring from this field into my work is, above all, attention to language and to the ways our words shape our experience.

Less known facts

  • Before forest bathing, there was sound bathing.

    My first group workshops were sound baths with a gong, singing bowls and other instruments.

  • I grew up in the city.

    You might imagine I’ve always lived in the countryside, but I was born and raised in Ljubljana.

  • Working with children and young people.

    My experience also includes culinary and photography workshops for kids, as well as teaching biology and technology at a private primary school.

  • I'm passionate and love creating new things.

    I enjoy creating things with my imagination and my hands, designing and making wooden toys, decorative objects and a variety of learning aids.

Have a question or something to share?

If you’d like to bring nature into your work, join a forest bathing session or develop a programme together, but are unsure about anything, you’re always welcome to write to me. Tell me what interests you and what you’d like to create. Or perhaps you’d simply like to send a few words of encouragement or share a thought. I’d love to hear from you.