Jacob van Haaften

I am a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program at Dalhousie University, where I am training within a scientist-practitioner model under the supervision of Dr. Shannon Johnson. I also hold a Master of Arts in Indigenous Studies from Trent University. My interdisciplinary background in psychology and Indigenous Studies informs my commitment to advancing both human wellbeing and environmental stewardship through research, clinical practice, and community collaboration.

My research focuses on understanding how connections with nature and Creation influence mental health, wellbeing, and flourishing. During my master's degree, I worked collaboratively with Curve Lake First Nation and the Curve Lake Cultural Centre to explore community perspectives on connection with Creation, including its meanings, benefits, concerns, and priorities. Through this partnership, we co-developed a novel measure of connection with Creation grounded in community knowledge and priorities. This work continues through ongoing collaborations examining the scale's psychometric properties using Bayesian latent variable modelling and exploring relationships between connection with Creation and wellbeing.

In my doctoral studies, I have expanded this research to investigate nature connection across diverse populations and contexts, including accessibility-focused forest therapy programs, online nature-based interventions, environmental determinants of mental health, and the integration of nature into healthcare and clinical practice. More broadly, my research seeks to better understand how connecting with nature may contribute to both individual wellbeing and planetary health.

Alongside my research activities, I am developing competencies as a clinical psychologist through assessment, diagnosis, psychotherapy, and program development. My clinical training at the Dalhousie Centre for Psychological Health includes conducting comprehensive psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic assessments, delivering cognitive-behavioural interventions, and helping develop a nature-connection group intervention. I am particularly interested in how environmental and ecological factors can be meaningfully incorporated into evidence-based mental health care.

More broadly, I am interested in the intersections of clinical psychology, environmental psychology, Indigenous knowledges, and planetary health. My long-term goal is to contribute to the growing evidence base for ecopsychology and nature-based approaches to mental health while providing accessible, culturally responsive, and evidence-informed psychological services.

If you are interested in my research, clinical training, or educational journey, I would be happy to connect. I am especially interested in collaborating with researchers, clinicians, students, and community members who share interests in nature connection, ecopsychology, environmental psychology, Indigenous-led research, and planetary health.