Ecopsychology refers to an interdisciplinary field of study that synthesizes the study of ecology and psychology in a bid to promote sustainability and to protect the environment. It differs from conventional psychology in that it seeks to study the emotional bond that exists between human beings and the Earth. It seeks to expand what its practitioners believe is an emotional connection that exists between human beings and nature where the aim is to bring a person psychologically closer to nature.
The origin of this philosophy can be traced back to Sigmund Freud and his emphasis on the tensions an individual feels when faced with civilization; he recognized that there was a much more fundamental connection between the mind and the environment which needed to be addressed and valued. Ecologists in the 1960s developed this idea in further in a bid to better describe the human nature relationship as environmental concerns came increasing to the fore.
