Forest Therapy and Sophrology in the Loire Valley: Interview with Sophie Abbate
I’ve known Sophie Abbate for several years now.
I first met her during one of my forest therapy walks in La Foucaudière forest at Orée-d’Anjou. During the walk, Sophie told me she wanted to do the same work as I did and become a forest therapy guide. I told her it was time for someone to carry the voice of the trees in that magnificent forest.
In 2023, Sophie came back to train with me in Spiritual Forest Therapy and Plant Consciousness. Her gentleness, listening, humility and faith make her a luminous person.
Sophie is also a sophrologist and combines sophrology—a mind-body relaxation and awareness practice—with forest therapy to help people ground themselves, find alignment and reconnect with nature and their essential self.
I wanted to highlight her today because, quite simply, everyone should have a Sophie in their life 💛
CR: Hello Sophie, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. It means a lot to me. Could you tell us how you became a sophrologist?
SA: Hello Clotilde. Thank you for inviting me—it means a lot coming from you, and it’s also a beautiful opportunity for some introspection 😉
How did I become a sophrologist? I think it began when I listened to a very persistent inner voice that kept repeating the word ‘sophrology’, a word I didn’t even know at the time.
I had been immersed in motherhood for several years. When my third daughter arrived, I began thinking much more deeply about my future. I didn’t want to return to work that held no meaning for me, especially if the only reason for leaving my children was simply ‘to earn money’. I think I was searching for my life’s purpose.
My daughters helped me with that, each in her own way. The inner voice was so persistent that I started researching the word. I discovered sophrology as a mind-body method combining relaxation, awareness, breathing and movement. The more I explored it, the more it felt as though it already matched my philosophy of life. I then joined group sophrology sessions and began a professional skills assessment to test the idea more concretely.
From the moment I decided to train as a sophrologist, everything seemed to fall into place financially and practically. I felt incredibly guided 🥰
CR: You now combine sophrology and forest therapy. How do the two approaches complement one another? What does meeting trees bring to a sophrology session?
SA: For me, combining forest therapy and sophrology feels completely natural. Nature can support us enormously in everyday life when we make space for it and bring our attention to it. Being with trees can make it easier to find calm and quiet, which helps us turn inward and listen more closely to ourselves and our capacities.
I experience a gentle energy with trees, a sense of grounding and safety.
Someone once told me they loved coming to the sophrology-and-forest walks because it was there that they could truly let go, listen and find calm—something they found more difficult in an indoor consulting room.
CR: The adults we become are shaped by childhood. What kind of child were you, Sophie? Did you already feel this strong spiritual connection with trees and nature?
SA: I was a fairly joyful, positive child. I was often in my own little world, inventing all kinds of stories—my imagination was overflowing! Despite my disability, I climbed everywhere. I was climbing ladders before I could even walk 🤭
Everything fascinated me. I could spend ages watching tiny creatures, nature and animals—they were my whole world. I adored animals and wanted to become a farmer and make cheese (yes, I really love cheese 😋).
I think I always had this strong connection with nature and trees, helped by parents who already had a real awareness of the natural world. My father knows so much about trees, nature, the sky and animals. I always loved listening to him and learning from him—he’s an encyclopedia 😀
CR: You have a prosthetic leg, which affects your gait slightly. And yet I once watched you hurry across the Chézine meadow towards an oak, as though carried by its energy. I also remember that at the end of our training week in Nantes, you told me you felt reassured: you had realised that parks and accessible natural spaces would always allow you to keep spending time in nature, and that you fully belonged there. How do you feel in nature and with trees today? Could you reassure our readers who may wonder whether disability has a place in the forest?
SA: Oh yes, I remember running through Chézine Park even though I wasn’t physically at my best! The energy I felt as I went to meet that oak was extraordinary and it did me so much good. I often feel carried like that—it feels magical. I did worry about not being able to walk everywhere, especially as some paths can be difficult and may become harder over the years.
Training in several different parks around Nantes reassured me that I could continue spending time in nature. There are accessible paths, and I have a walking stick that I hardly use now. I think the training week—and later guiding people through the forest—helped me build confidence.
I pay close attention to the paths I use, even though the forest sometimes surprises me and seems to ‘carry’ me towards new places.
If I can do it, many people can follow me 😏
CR: La Foucaudière forest, where you take people on forest therapy walks in Orée-d’Anjou, seems full of mysteries and surprises. I’ve felt a presence in those trees unlike anywhere else. Do you feel the same? Is there an experience you would like to share?
SA: Absolutely! It’s a forest full of surprises and mysteries. I love going there and I experience the place as being joyful to receive visitors. When I connect with what I call the spirit of the place, I feel an excitement almost like a child eager to show us magical corners of the forest. One time I even felt sorry that I had explored somewhere else instead, and my eldest daughter later went there and, in her own way, carried my message that I would return soon 😄
I have a beautiful connection with this forest, and when I’m there I allow myself to be guided by what I feel it wants to show me.
Once, while scouting a route, I kept finding myself drawn back to the same tree. I eventually understood that this was going to become a central place in the walk, and much of the session ended up happening there.
Another time I was looking for the right place for our usual break. I walked and walked without finding it, so I asked the forest for a sign to help me find the right spot.
Not long afterwards I heard a sound and saw a squirrel moving through the trees. I was delighted and followed my attention towards it, and there I discovered a beautiful place with a wonderful atmosphere. A few days later, seven of us were sitting in a circle in that peaceful place surrounded by young trees 🥰
CR: Last question—my favourite in these forest therapy interviews 😉 If you could reincarnate as an element of nature, what would you choose, and why?
SA: I would choose a tree—an oak in particular, for its quiet strength. I love trees because they take their time to grow. At first there is only a small seed, gradually gathering strength. It seems like almost nothing, then it grows in size and height and takes its place. It feels steadfast, long-lived and deeply observant 😌
A huge thank you, Sophie, for sharing these intimate parts of your story. Your experience will matter to many people. I wish you beautiful walks and so much joy among the trees.
🌳 If you would like to meet Sophie Abbate in Maine-et-Loire for a forest walk or sophrology session, you can contact her:
on Instagram: Sophie Abbate (@sofiasophro_) • Instagram
on LinkedIn: Sophie Abbate | LinkedIn
on Facebook: Sofiasophro
and on her website: Sophie Abbate — Sophrologist (sofiasophro.fr)
🌱 Do you work with trees, forests or the Living World and have a professional perspective you would like to share? Whatever your profession or country, write to me at clotilde.naturo@gmail.com
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