Quiet Hour is our latest honoree!

We're happy to announce that our latest winner is Quiet Hour! We recommend it as a tool for all of our counselors. https://www.quiethour.org/ This material was made by Heather Chase and Ken Beller. They have decades of experience studying and practicing various stress-management techniques. Multi-award-winning authors and presenters, they strive to enhance people’s lives. Their previous work has been endorsed by presidents and Nobel Prize winners. They have developed and delivered popular training programs for dozens of large organizations, from the U.S. Navy to the NBA. Quiet Hour is a unique collection of guided, outdoor experiences for reducing stress and relaxing in nature.

The experiences can be done in any natural spot, are 15 to 60 minutes long, and trauma informed. They blend 9 techniques or influences which research indicates have a calming or uplifting effect. These are exposure to nature, hearing quiet and natural sounds, pausing electronic device use, earthing or grounding, extended exhale breathing, sensory awareness, effortless attention or soft fascination, opportunities for awe, and gratitude.

The experiences include a standard, seated version, and variations such as Quiet Walk, Quiet Nature Art, Quiet Birdwatching, Quiet Stargazing, Quiet Hour Call, Quiet Movement, Quiet Mini-Retreat, and more.

Quiet Hour is comprised of a kit and a book. The Quiet Hour Kit is for therapists who would like to lead sessions of the experiences for their clients. The Kit includes on-demand, video-based training, audio recordings therapists can play for part of sessions, materials such as a flyer, checklist, surveys, and more. With the Kit, therapists can learn to lead sessions after less than one hour of training.

The Quiet Hour book is for clients who would like to do self-led sessions on their own. Intentionally brief, it includes an introduction and written text of the experiences and a link to audio recordings of the experiences and additional tools such as summary cards, micro-experiences, an experience log, and more. It is intended for general use to help clients reduce stress, improve well-being, and feel more connected with nature. It can be part of group, family, couples, and individual therapy, plus support groups and community wellness events.

It is designed to be instantly relaxing and offer social support without social pressure, letting clients have shared experiences without having to talk, perform in some way, or worry about being judged. It can be an appealing initial activity to help clients feel more comfortable before going on to more involved types of therapy.

Plus, since it is easy and relaxing for therapists to lead, especially if they play the audio recordings for part of the sessions, it can also help support therapists’ own self-care. The Kit is for therapists; the book is for clients. The experiences in both are for everyone ages 12 and up, including people with disabilities, people who have experienced trauma, people whose first language is not English, and others. What really impressed us the most was the amount of research that supports this practice! Quiet Hour is a one-of-a-kind, complementary mental well-being tool—a collection of guided, outdoor experiences for reducing stress and relaxing in nature. It’s comprised of a therapists’ kit and clients’ book.

Therapists’ Kit:

Would you like to help clients reduce stress and relax in nature, and support your own self-care at the same time?

It’s easy with the Quiet Hour Kit. With on-demand, video-based training, audio recordings, printable documents, and more, it empowers you to lead sessions of relaxing, outdoor experiences, in any natural spot, after less than one hour of training.

Clients’ Book:

Feel inner peace outside. Includes 8 hours of audio experiences

Would you like a break from noise and stress to relax and boost your well-being and happiness—in as few as 15 minutes?

Kit details are at www.quiethour.org

Research shows nature can reduce stress and meet psychological and emotional needs that are difficult to meet any other way. But, in today’s noisy, hectic, high-tech world, we’re more cut off from nature than ever. Even if we do get to the outdoors, we’re often distracted or unsure how to get the most out of it.

Quiet Hour can help. This transformative collection of meditative outdoor experiences unlocks nature’s soothing power. It blends 9 research-backed, calming or uplifting techniques or influences into a simple, peaceful process nearly anyone can do.

This one-of-a-kind wellness tool gives you:

• Surprising insights about this approach and how it can help you

• Relaxing experiences you can do in any natural spot

• Easy guidance in the experiences, in lengths starting at 15 minutes

• Fun variations—Quiet Birdwatching, Nature Art, Movement, Stargazing, and more

• Audio recordings guiding you through the experiences, 8 hours total

• Helpful tips & tools—summary cards, a 52-session log, space to reflect, and

more.

Book details are at www.amazon.com/Quiet-Hour-Reduce-Stress-Nature-ebook/dp/B0F1QPX226