Outdoor Therapy- The Way of the Future?
The eagles cry out above the treetops in their worried way and the breeze chatters through the alder trees. I look up, up into the blue sky streaked with clouds and take a deep grounding breath. My pink backpack is squished behind me between me and the back of the bench, my legs are tucked up into a criss-cross. I watch through my heart-shaped sunglasses as the park unfolds in front of me. Life plays its busy soundtrack all around me. Children jumping and laughing at the playground. A family of bufflehead ducks dragging themselves out of the river and onto the muddy bank of the river, their feathers ruffled. Cars pull in and out of the parking lot behind me. My legs are comfortably sore in their formation underneath me and my skin is beginning to cool in the breeze. This is a place and state I find myself in every Wednesday, resting and reflecting after a handful of cherished Walk and Talk sessions with my beloved clients.
When I first started my private practice, I couldn’t afford an office space. I wanted to connect with my clients in person as many of them had come to expect our time together face to face. I consulted with my colleagues, did some research and decided that Walk and Talk sessions would serve nicely in the interim. Some of my trusting clients decided to embark on this journey with me. What I found was that Walk and Talk was not a replacement for in office sessions by any means, it was a wonder all its own. The unique medium held untapped and unmatchable potential for transformative work with my clients. Utilizing the power of movement and using nature as a guide for interventions, I found that I had discovered a way to do this work that I had never considered previously.
Walking is a simple form of bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation occurs any time you are moving your body and brain in a rhythmic right-left pattern. Simply put, both sides of your brain are balanced when engaging in bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation is often used in different therapeutic settings to ease symptoms of trauma, anxiety and other mental health concerns. This type of stimulation helps regulate the nervous system and improves feelings of well-being and balance. Walking and movement are also guaranteed endorphin releasers. Endorphins are mood boosters and help relieve anxiety and depression. All this to say, walking is an intervention for managing mood and mental health concerns all on its own.
When we pair this miracle intervention of walking with a trained psychotherapist (hello, it’s me), you create an ideal hour of healing. Your body is reaping the benefit of the low impact, bilateral stimulation and your mind is working through and moving through your usual therapy agenda with a supportive facilitator to structure your time. Foundationally, walk and talk therapy has all the ingredients to be transformational for folks looking to heal in an untraditional way.
Through my time facilitating Walk and Talk therapy, I have found that hosting sessions outdoors often provides ample room for creative interventions that build off of the nature that surrounds us. Guided imagery, sensory skills, and somatic interventions all take on a new face when moving sessions outside. Instead of describing a forest to my client in the confines of my office, I sit them on a bench in front of the actual forest and ask them to observe and breathe deeply into their tummy. In lieu of asking my client to imagine setting down the symbolic weight of their responsibilities, I ask them to lean against a tree and allow the sturdy, wise trunk to hold them up fully. In place of asking my teen to picture herself releasing her anger, I ask her to kick the piles of leaves in Autumn and envision the anger leaving her body as she does so. The outdoors transformed the way I approached therapy, and informed the way I taught my clients how to manage their emotions and connect to their bodies.
Walk and Talk therapy has become my absolute favorite way to do therapy. Both because of the benefits it brings my clients but also the experience it allows me as the therapist. When we met at the park, my clients began to share pieces of themselves that I may have missed otherwise. I’ve met their pets, they’ve been able to navigate post-partum with a new baby in a stroller. We laughed, laid in the sun, ran through the rain, wandered through fields noticing the tickle of tall grass on our skin. We’ve bundled up against the cold, hand warmers tucked in our pockets, tea poured across picnic tables. We listen to the birds in the still of the morning and catch deer grazing in the quiet as we take a mindful moment. It has been the dream I never knew to envision as a therapist. It has been anything but clinical and structured and it has been surreal. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that the wonder that is therapy is my job, and beyond that I have developed a niche for outdoor therapy! Talk about luck.
While Walk and Talk is a medium that is gaining more traction in the therapy community, it is still a relatively uncommon offering. As a therapist, I continue to seek consultation and community with therapists offering outdoor/nature/W+T therapy. I feel lucky to be connected with a group of lovely nature therapists in Washington state who are spearheading the development of expectations and guidelines for clinicians looking to pursue nature therapy in their practices. If you’d like to discover more nature therapists in your area, check out the directory https://www.pnwnaturetherapy.com/.
If you are considering starting nature therapy as a client, there are a few considerations when determining whether the modality is right for you. The first consideration is the nature of your work in therapy. (See what I did there?) For example, if you are healing trauma and often find yourself emotional or unregulated in your therapy sessions, outdoor therapy may not feel particularly safe or appropriate. The second consideration is your physical ability and relationship to movement. If you have an existing injury or a complicated relationship to movement, outdoor therapy may press on the wound, literally and symbolically. The third consideration is privacy. As I am sure you can imagine, not much confidentiality can exist in a public space like a park or trail. Therefore, clients must feel comfortable with their conversations potentially being overheard when engaging in outdoor therapy. Your therapist will cover the risks of outdoor therapy and you’ll most likely be asked to sign a specific consent form related to your outdoor sessions. Outdoor therapy can be a wonderful option for many people and should be considered thoughtfully and with the support of your provider.
To end this blog, I’d like to leave you with an assignment. I challenge you to take a walk outdoors this week. Find a local park or walking path near where you live and make a plan to go alone. I find that morning tends to be when the wildlife is most active and the park is the quietest. Put your phone away, turn off your headphones and take note of how you feel before starting your walk. If you are able to, try to walk for at least a half an hour. While walking, notice your senses. Try to listen to the sounds of your space, notice the temperature and the breeze, look up and around at the trees and plants. Be curious about your surroundings, stop to touch and study, even if you look like a weirdo doing it. Take the risk and see how it feels to really notice your surroundings. At the end of your walk, take another note of how you feel and if you can feel any marked difference in mood or your body.
We often take for granted the power of simple things. We forget in the midst of our busy lives that sometimes getting back to the basics feels rejuvenating and resetting. Outdoor therapy might seem like it is just a walk in the park. But maybe, just maybe, a walk in the park is exactly what your mind and body needs. Therapy doesn’t have to look the way it has always looked. We are evolving so therapy should evolve too. Outdoor therapy has changed my life and perhaps it could also change yours.
