Flagship Project | Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld
Clinical Forest Therapy in Orthopedic Rehabilitation and Multimodal Pain Therapy
On May 20, 2026, the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway for Orthopedics and Multimodal Pain Therapy (KWTWS) officially opened at Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld in Brandenburg. Following a professional audit by the IM-WALD-SEIN® Institute (IWSI) in cooperation with INFOM, the pathway was established within an internationally recognized quality framework for nature and forest medicine. The flagship project permanently integrates indication-specific Clinical Forest Therapy into everyday clinical care, supported by defined workflows, documented processes, coordinated structures, and professional training. Experience gained in Sommerfeld contributes to the further development of Clinical Forest Therapy and its implementation in other rehabilitation and specialist clinics.
Project Overview
Clinical Forest Therapy at Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld
This overview brings together the key elements of the Sommerfeld model – from clinical implementation and the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway to professional training, transfer into practice and quality assurance.
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Project Goals and Location
The project aimed to establish Clinical Forest Therapy as a structured component of care in orthopedic rehabilitation and multimodal pain therapy. The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway (KWTWS) was designed to provide a permanently available therapeutic setting and to serve as a reference site for the further development of Clinical Forest Therapy.
Key Project Components
- KWTWS as a dedicated therapeutic setting in the forest
- Indication-specific modules tailored to individual patients and rehabilitation goals
- Clinical integration supported by clear workflows, documentation and team training
- IWS Green Prescription supporting transfer into everyday life
Project Timeline
- Start: December 2025
- Final audit and certification: May 2026
- Annual recertification cycles
- Initial project duration: 5 years
Participating Institutions
- Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld: Clinical partner
- IM-WALD-SEIN® Academy (IWSA): Professional concept development and implementation support
- IM-WALD-SEIN® Institute for Forest Medicine and Forest Therapy (IWSI): Final audit and certification
- International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM): Cooperating certification partner
The KWTWS | Goals and Impact
Therapeutic Goals of Clinical Forest Therapy in Sommerfeld
The therapeutical use of forests and nature has a long tradition in Sommerfeld. The extensive clinic grounds are located in the forest and lake landscape of Brandenburg near Lake Beetzer and trace their history back to a former forest sanatorium for patients with lung disease. The park-like grounds, with their extensive green spaces and woodland, continue to shape the character of the site and provide excellent conditions for a wide range of outdoor activities. With the KWTWS, Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld is taking this tradition a step further. Clinical Forest Therapy is now established as a structured therapeutic component of the clinic’s care program. The KWTWS expands the range of treatment options with indication-specific, salutogenic forest- and nature-based therapies delivered within a clearly defined therapeutic framework.
Mobility, Body Awareness and Self-Efficacy
The KWTWS helps patients experience movement again as something positive and safe. Varied terrain, open spaces and natural points of orientation support mobility, balance, coordination and more differentiated body awareness. This can strengthen confidence in one’s own body and encourage active participation in the therapeutic process.
Pain Management and Adaptive Coping
Natural sounds, changing light and the calm of the forest support a broader focus of attention and can help reduce an intense focus on pain. Sensory awareness, presence and movement create new experiences. Targeted perception and movement exercises can support adaptive regulation and a more flexible way of coping with pain and related symptoms.
Motivation and Connection with Nature
Forests and nature provide accessible environments that patients can continue to use after treatment. Positive experiences in nature can strengthen motivation and support health-promoting behavior. The KWTWS encourages self-directed activity and empowerment and helps patients carry useful strategies beyond their stay at the clinic.
Healthy Routines in Everyday Life
IM-WALD-SEIN® Green Prescription
applies the principle of a physician’s recommendation to Clinical Forest Therapy and is being adapted for inpatient care in Sommerfeld for the first time. Recommendations framed by physicians and therapists, easy-to-follow forest therapy exercises and a structured follow-up process support self-directed activity, self-efficacy and the lasting integration of health-promoting routines into everyday life.
Impressions from the Opening Day
The images show key moments from the opening day: the certification of the KWTWS, the recognition of the therapy team, the official opening ceremony and joint expert tours of the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway on the forest grounds of Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld with representatives from different professional groups.
Medicine, Nature and New Approaches in Rehabilitation
Modern medicine today offers highly advanced diagnostic and therapeutic options. In orthopedic rehabilitation and multimodal pain therapy in particular, evidence-based treatment concepts, interdisciplinary collaboration and specialized therapeutic approaches enable highly effective treatment. At the same time, there is growing recognition that long-term health is not shaped in the treatment room alone. Movement, perception, self-regulation and motivation can be particularly supported when people engage with natural environments. In this sense, nature can serve as an experiential setting that supports therapeutic processes and opens up new pathways to physical activity, self-efficacy and health-promoting behavior. Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld builds on this perspective and takes it a step further with the Sommerfeld Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway for Orthopedics and Multimodal Pain Therapy (KWTWS).
Sommerfeld combines medical and therapeutic expertise, extensive rehabilitation experience and immediate access to woodland in a unique way. This provides ideal conditions for integrating Clinical Forest Therapy into everyday therapeutic practice on a sound professional basis. The KWTWS provides a structured framework in which nature-based interventions are purposefully combined with established treatment approaches. The focus is not on the experience of nature alone, but on the therapeutic use of the forest in orthopedic rehabilitation and multimodal pain therapy. The result is a pioneering project: the first Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway of its kind in Germany – and most likely in Europe – to integrate Clinical Forest Therapy into a structured clinical care setting while also undergoing professional audit and certification within the IWSI/INFOM quality framework.
Perspectives on the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway Sommerfeld
Matthias Kloß, Managing Director of Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld:
“In healthcare, innovation means building on proven medical expertise while responsibly integrating new approaches into patient care. The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway Sommerfeld shows how modern rehabilitation, pain management and nature-based health services can be meaningfully combined.”
Dr. Volker Liefring, Chief Physician at Sana Kliniken Sommerfeld:
“The clinic’s own forest grounds have a long tradition in Sommerfeld. With the KWTWS, we are developing this approach systematically and integrating forests and nature into our orthopedic rehabilitation and pain management concepts. We are especially pleased that, as a training site of the IM-WALD-SEIN® Academy (IWSA), we can contribute to establishing a sound basis for Clinical Forest Therapy.”
Dr. Melanie H. Adamek, Director of the IM-WALD-SEIN® Institute:
“With the KWTWS, we show how nature-based therapies can be integrated into clinical care within a quality-assured framework. The forest is deliberately included as a therapeutic resource in established treatment concepts. At the same time, the KWTWS creates the basis for recommending nature-based health services through the original IM-WALD-SEIN® concept of The Green Prescription.”
Dieter H. Begel, Director of the IM-WALD-SEIN® Academy:
“The KWTWS creates a practical, standardized and transferable model for clinics. Our aim is to provide clinics with the skills and structures they need to integrate nature-based therapies into everyday care safely, sustainably and within a quality-assured framework.”
Sabine Oberg, Clinical Forest Therapy Instructor at the IM-WALD-SEIN® Academy:
“What matters is that Clinical Forest Therapy is not only understood conceptually, but implemented safely, in a patient-centered way and with a clear focus on the relevant indication in everyday therapeutic practice. Team qualification is a key element in this process.”
Prof. Dr. Qing Li, President of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM):
“The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway Sommerfeld is an important example of how the findings of forest medicine can be transferred into a clinical care setting. The combination of medical treatment, therapeutic guidance, nature experience and quality assurance shows the potential Clinical Forest Therapy can offer for prevention, rehabilitation and modern healthcare.”
Press and Project Information
Press Release on the Opening of the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway Sommerfeld
A detailed press release was published to mark the opening and certification of the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway Sommerfeld. It provides an overview of the project, the participating partners, the therapeutic concept and its significance for clinical care.
Further Project Information
Learn More and Get in Touch
Would you like to learn more about the project or explore whether Clinical Forest Therapy could be a good fit for your organization? We would be happy to answer your questions and discuss the next steps with you.