IM-WALD-SEIN® Top Expert | Clinic Partner Program
Integrating Clinical Forest Therapy into Prevention and Rehabilitation
Our certified clinical partner program integrates Clinical Forest Therapy into routine care across preventive and rehabilitation clinics. Evidence-informed. Indication-based planning. Safe for clinical use. Reliably certified.
IM-WALD-SEIN® Top Expert | Forest Therapy in a Clinical Framework
The Forest as a Therapeutic Setting
The forest can be a powerful therapeutic resource – enhancing motivation, resilience and everyday self-management, especially for people living with chronic conditions. For patients to truly benefit, however, forest therapy needs a clear clinical framework.
IM-WALD-SEIN® Top Expert provides exactly that:
clear indications, therapeutic goals, qualified guidance and a site-specific Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway (CFT Path). Together, these elements turn the forest into a structured therapeutic environment.
Patients are at the center:
their symptoms, resources, individual capacity and therapeutic goals. The therapeutic approach is tailored accordingly and integrated into the treatment process so that forest medicine and forest therapy can be delivered safely, consistently and with relevance to everyday life.
What you can expect:
a concept developed together with your clinic – from site assessment and CFT Path design to team training, and a complete implementation package for clinical operations, including certification.
Interested in partnering with us? We would be pleased to introduce you to our IM-WALD-SEIN® Top Expert clinic partner program.
Effective. Economical. Certified
At a Glance: Clinical Forest Therapy in your Clinic
WHO IS IT SUITABLE FOR?
- Clinics in forest and natural environments that want to meet the growing patient demand for forest therapy, forest medicine and forest bathing in a professional way.
- Especially suitable for clinics that want to develop their outdoor area into an effective nature-based therapeutic setting aligned with their treatment focus, configured for the specific site and documented for reimbursement purposes.
- If you have already established forest bathing, the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is
the next consistent step – a clinical framework that systematically complements and professionalizes your existing offering.
WHAT ARE FOREST BATHING, CLINICAL FOREST THERAPY AND THE CLINICAL FOREST THERAPY PATH?
- Forest bathing uses the forest as a health-promoting experiential setting. Clinical Forest Therapy goes further by using the forest as a therapeutic setting – indication-based, standardized, safe for clinical use, and documentable in everyday clinical practice.
- The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is the core of Clinical Forest Therapy. As a structured outdoor space, it enables indication-related application adapted to the patient profile in individual, group or independent settings.
- Clinical forest therapists are responsible for planning, implementation, and safety.
WHAT DO YOU RECEIVE?
- Everything required to successfully establish Clinical Forest Therapy in your clinic.
- The IWS Academy provides full development and implementation support – from Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway design and project management to training and qualification of your existing therapy team.
- The IWS Institute and the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM) provide the professional reference and certification framework.
- This creates a consistent model that combines site-specific implementation with professional expertise.
OUR REFERENCE LOCATIONS
- Our Clinical Forest Therapy model is currently represented at two clinical partner sites.
- At Sana Clinics Sommerfeld in Kremmen (Brandenburg) the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway for orthopedics and multimodal pain therapy is in regular clinical use.
- At the Sonneneck Psychosomatic Clinic in Badenweiler (Black Forest) the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway for psychosomatic disorders is being established.
- We are happy to facilitate the exchange of experiences with our flagship partners.
Clear. Safe. Implementable
The Clinical Forest Therapy Path: Implementation Overview
A Structured Four-Phase Process Tailored to Your Clinic and Treatment Priorities
01 Needs and Site Assessment
Together we clarify clinical indications, patient profiles, therapy goals, team resources and site conditions as the basis for a realistic implementation plan.
02 Path Design and Clinical Framework
We define the route and station logic of the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway as well as the clinical framework for implementation in routine practice.
03 Team Training and Pilot Phase
Your clinical team receives targeted training. The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is piloted in routine clinical practice and refined based on feedback.
04 Integration, Quality Audit and Certification
The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is integrated into routine workflows, operated with quality assurance, and reviewed in an audit as the basis for (re)certification.
Transparent. To the Point
FAQ: Clinical Forest Therapy in Practice
Here we answer the most frequently asked questions about Clinical Forest Therapy, the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway, forest bathing, implementation and documentation for preventive and rehabilitation clinics. If you have further questions – including costs – please request a consultation to receive a clear overview and the next sensible steps.
What is Clinical Forest Therapy?
Clinical Forest Therapy is considered “therapy” in the clinical sense when – like other therapeutic services – it is indicated, standardized, dosable, and delivered with quality assurance. This includes clear goals, defined responsibilities, a safety framework, and documentation. In this way, the forest becomes a therapeutic setting – plannable, safe, and traceable in everyday clinical practice.
What is the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway?
The Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is a central component of Clinical Forest Therapy – a site-specific pathway developed with station logic and standardized measures. It is designed to fit your clinic’s treatment priorities, patient profiles, workflows, and resources.
What makes Forest Therapy “therapy” in the clinical sense?
Forest therapy qualifies as clinical therapy when it is goal-directed and dosable – measures are planned in terms of duration, intensity, and load level and adjusted as needed. In addition, there are clear responsibilities, a safety framework, and documentation and quality assurance. This is how the forest becomes a therapeutic setting – plannable, safe, and traceable in routine clinical practice.
Who is the clinic partner program suitable for – and what does a site need?
For clinics that want to integrate nature-based interventions as an indication-guided therapy component – configured for the specific site and documentable for reimbursement purposes. Key requirements include a usable outdoor area and clearly defined team roles – entry typically takes place via a pilot phase.
We already offer forest bathing. Why should we integrate Clinical Forest Therapy?
Forest bathing is a valuable starting point. Clinical Forest Therapy adds the clinical framework – indication-guided structure, standards, safety, and documentation. This develops an existing forest bathing offer into a consistent, team-ready therapy component in everyday clinical practice.
What exactly do we receive in the program?
You receive a site-specific Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway design, the implementation framework, team training, and guided piloting – including role logic, a safety framework, and documentation and feedback structures. Auditing and (re)certification take place within the quality process according to the IWSI/INFOM reference and certification framework.
How does implementation work?
In four phases – needs and site assessment, Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway design and structure, team training and piloting, and integration including quality audit and (re)certification.
How do Clinical Forest Therapy and the CFT Path support documentation and reimbursement?
Clinical Forest Therapy can be documented for reimbursement because the Clinical Forest Therapy Pathway is designed from the outset to include defined roles, standardized procedures, and a consistent documentation logic. This supports integration into routine clinical workflows and quality assurance – and helps meet documentation requirements of health insurers and other payers.
How do the quality audit and certification work?
Implementation is reviewed through a quality audit – structure, roles, safety, and documentation must be implemented consistently. On this basis, certification or recertification takes place according to the IWSI/INFOM quality framework. Details on criteria, scope, and timeline are clarified site-specifically in a consultation.
What role does KTL 2025 play in this context? (Germany-specific)
In Germany’s statutory rehabilitation quality assurance (DRV), rehabilitation clinics document therapeutic services using KTL codes – from 01/01/2027, codes from KTL version 2025 will be used. In the KTL 2025 guidance, “forest bathing” is explicitly mentioned as an example.
The underlying principle is transferable – in a clinical context, a nature-based measure becomes “therapy” when it is indicated, structured/standardized, delivered with clear responsibility, and documentable. In Germany, KTL maps this logic through codes and associated quality characteristics. In other countries, analogous reimbursement or reporting frameworks may apply – our program is designed to support clinics in aligning documentation and workflows with their local requirements.