Meet Our Clinical Team
At ConnectByNature Therapy Services, we (re)connect people with nature so they can heal, grow, and thrive, with a particular focus on children and youth, including those who have limited access to nature due to systemic barriers.
We strive to create environments and experiences that support wellbeing across the lifespan, while holding deep respect for people, place, and the more-than-human world.
Nancy Rushford
She/Her/Hers
Founder/ Director
Registered Occupational Therapist & Psychotherapist
Nancy Rushford is a registered occupational therapist and psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and vulnerable populations across the lifespan in health, community, and disaster-affected contexts in Canada and internationally. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Sydney, an MA in Counselling Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology, and an MSc. in Occupational Therapy from McMaster University. Nancy serves as Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) at McMaster University and is the Founder and Director of Biophilic Health Inc. and ConnectByNature Therapy Services.
In her clinical work, Nancy offers nature-connected, evidence-informed therapy grounded in occupational therapy principles and informed by various psychotherapeutic modalities, including cognitive behavioural, mindfulness-based, somatic, neurodiversity-affirming, relational, and trauma-responsive approaches. She has advanced training in animal-assisted psychotherapy and biomimicry, and thoughtfully integrates nature and animals into practice to support regulation, participation, connection, and wellbeing.
Nancy strives to foster relationships and practices that honour Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and connections to Land, while respecting the stories, histories, and communities intertwined with the places where people live, learn, grow, and heal.
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Sherry Visser- Fleming
She/Her/Hers
Registered Social Worker & Psychotherapist
Sherry Visser-Fleming is a registered social worker, psychotherapist, educator and nature-based practitioner whose work is grounded in relational, trauma-informed, person-centred and experiential approaches to healing and growth. Sherry brings with her 30+ years of experience working alongside vulnerable children, youth, adults, and families across community, mental health, child welfare and justice settings. She is a professor in both the Child and Youth Care and Addiction & Mental Health programs at Niagara College, where she supports emerging helping professionals.
In private practice, her clinical work integrates nature-based and equine-assisted psychotherapy with somatic approaches, cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation. Caring deeply about the reciprocal healing potential of the natural world, she incorporates forests, trails, animals, outdoor reflection, sensory awareness, grounding practices, and seasonal experiences into her therapeutic work whenever possible.
As a settler ally, Sherry approaches her work with humility and respect for Indigenous land-based ways of knowing, being and doing. She is committed to ongoing learning, reflection, and relationship-building that honours the lands, histories, and communities connected to the places where healing occurs.