Walk & Talk Therapy
Walk and talk therapy is a concept that can be best described as “taking the traditional counselling session outdoors”.
Walk and talk therapists often use their local surroundings to their benefit, such as having the session while walking along the coast, using local footpaths, walking around hills and valleys, and maybe more local natural beauty spots. We really don’t need to look too far around us to find what Mother Nature has to offer.
Benefits of walk and talk therapy
Walk and talk therapy can be an especially helpful method of working for people who don't have the opportunity to get out into nature very often and for those who feel as if they thrive better when they do. I have learnt that having therapeutic conversations with clients in the great outdoors, either while walking, sitting in a wooded clearing, or a mixture of both, adds a totally different and positive dynamic to the experience.
Of course, counselling in-clinic, over the phone and online still has a place for many clients. However, as the choice of how sessions take place must always sit with the client, it’s important to outline the benefits of walk and talk counselling to understand more options.
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Outdoor counselling is good for those who may feel a little anxious or claustrophobic in the environment of a one-on-one session in a room - the potential intensity of eye contact is removed for those who find it an uncomfortable part of therapeutic work.
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When we move our bodies and shift our environment, we can think differently about aspects of our lives that have before seemed immovable. Being outdoors is a physically more relaxing experience for our bodies and, therefore, our minds are freer to open up.
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Working therapeutically outdoors can help with feelings of being “stuck”, as we are moving forwards in the sessions physically and the sense of looking forwards to the changes that clients want from therapy.
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Being outside releases endorphins and is generally mood-enhancing, can support weight loss, lowers blood pressure, boosts immunity, speeds up digestion, and improves heart health.
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Walking together side by side also means a sense of equality and union in the partnership between client and counsellor, along with the often hugely valuable silences in therapy that are much easier to bear for many people.
Working outside can be especially helpful for people who don't have the opportunity to get out into nature very often, and for those who feel as if they thrive better when they do.
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