October 2025 Online Ecotherapy Training and Certificate Program

Johnette C. Walser, MSW, LCSW, RYT-200hr, Somatic Ecotherapist and Psychotherapist, she/her/hers, is a dark skinned, Black, cis gendered, queer, neurotypical, college educated, able bodied, middle class woman. She resides in Greensboro, NC, which is on Keyauwee and Saura land.

She is a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, somatic practitioner and teacher, yoga and mindfulness teacher, change agent, circle keeper and professor.

Johnette has a Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Masters Degree in Social Work from The Joint MSW Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and NC A&T State University. Johnette is currently working full time as a Professor in the Joint Masters of Social Work Program teaching clinical social work courses to MSW students. She also works in private practice supporting Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), including Queer and Trans BIPOC individuals, as they journey towards healing trauma, recognizing their wholeness and moving toward liberation.

Johnette graduated from the Skill in Action: Yoga & Social Justice 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Program and is Usui II Reiki Certified. She has additional training in ecotherapy from the Earth Body Institute and via her own experiential and lineage based practices. Johnette is also trained in antiracism practices, somatics, poly-vagal theory, mindfulness-based stress reduction and other mindfulness techniques. She uses this knowledge to facilitate workshops, retreats, small groups, and individual healing.

Johnette is licensed through the International Institute for Restorative Practices as a Restorative Practices Trainer and conducts restorative justice training for educators and communities. She is also trained in circle work processes, and facilitate conversations around race and intersectionality with college-aged students and uses her knowledge of restorative and healing justice to facilitate collective care circles in the community.

Johnette’s connection with nature begun at a young age, playing in her great grandparents’ yard and in her grandfather’s garden. This love of the outdoors has extended itself into hiking, kayaking, outdoor collective care circles. mindfulness and movement, and waterfall chasing. She has a particular love of water and is Waterfall Keeper of North Carolina, having adopted two waterfalls to care for. Johnette utilizes her love of nature to facilitate connection with self, with others and with the world. She believes in wholeness and healing and in the liberating powers of nature, rest, community, and connection.

Kellum Lewis, MA, MFA, LMFT, (he/him), is a seasoned psychotherapist based in what is now called Pasadena, California, (on Kizh/Tongva/Gabrieleño territory) with a wealth of experience in the fields of clinical psychotherapy, ecopsychology, ecotherapy, teaching, and LGBTQ+ health and advocacy. Using integrative ideas from Jungian, psychodynamic and ecologically-based psychotherapies, Kellum specializes in addressing LGBTQ+ issues, relationship concerns, depression, anxiety, HIV/AIDS, and spiritual/religious crises. He is passionate about the central role LGBTQ+ people play in supporting humankind toward a more balanced, equitable, and sustainable future.

In addition to clinical practice, Kellum is actively involved in teaching and education. He currently supervises Associate psychotherapists and trainees for two community mental health clinics as well as in his own private group practice. He is the founder and Clinical Director of Clarity and Growth Center for Psychotherapy and has served as an adjunct instructor at Antioch University, Los Angeles, where he taught a variety of courses, including Ecopsychology, Spiritual Perspectives on Addiction, and Gay Male Identity Development. He also offers a free, once-a-month land-based ecotherapy training for aspiring ecotherapists in the Los Angeles area.

Kellum’s dedication to raising awareness and enhancing mental health standards is demonstrated through his participation on the Los Angeles County HIV/AIDS Mental Health Task Force and the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV Services. He is also a published author whose work brings insight into the importance of emotional well-being, psychotherapy, and the search for soulful connections with the more-than-human world.

With an educational background that includes a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from DePaul University, Kellum brings a unique blend of artistic creativity and clinical expertise to his therapeutic work. He is most passionate about assisting LGBTQ+ people find healing from the wounds of homophobia and heterosexism as well as promoting sustainable and life-enhancing futures by supporting people interested in ecopsychology and ecological-mindedness. On a personal note, Kellum loves to garden, cook, and is cat-dad to Milo and ZuZu, and dog-dad to Ellie and Rufus. Discover more at his website: https://www.clarityandgrowthcenter.com/