Walk & Talk Therapy
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
Frederick Nietzsche
We believe that for some older children, young people and adults, sitting within the confines of a therapy room can be restricting and uncomfortable, leading many to feel inhibited and unable to thrive in a therapeutic setting.
‘Walk and Talk‘ therapy is a modern approach to therapy for people. This more organic process has proven positive outcomes and can achieve great results in terms of getting to the core of the issue.
Whilst the primary objective is that this is a therapy session and I am the counsellor, research has shown that being outside in the fresh air surrounded by nature, walking side by side with a therapist creates improvements in both mood and attention function, enabling the client to gain perspective and balance.
Walking and talking in a safe space, enables us to develop a strong working alliance, giving the client confidence and the tools to develop the awareness to deal with any underlying issues. Walking and talking enables the client to become more resilient and gain an understanding of their own lives and find ways to communicate these feelings.
How it works
The first session will always be carried out face to face in my therapy room at The Snug. This enables us to have our initial consultation. We will go through a few questions and get to know each other, discuss how Walk & Talk therapy works and its benefits, and construct our confidential agreement together.
Walk and Talk therapy is ethical and based on traditional concepts of your therapists chosen style, the only difference is that it is done outdoors. This therapy has been used successfully for teenagers and adults, those who are more introvert, those that find it difficult to sit still for a length of time, or those who are easily distracted, or struggling with anxiety, bereavement, bullying, depression, divorce, stress, work pressure or a traumatic event. It has been found to be highly beneficial for teenagers who are feeling anxious or stressed in the run up to or during exams, such as the 8+,11+13+, GCSEs and A Levels).
We will then meet the following week for our Walk & Talk sessions which take place in either Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park or Bishops Park in Fulham.
The benefits
The mental health charity ‘Mind’ carried out research which showed that 71% of people felt a decrease in depression and less intense emotions and 90% felt their self-esteem increase after a walk in the countryside.
- Young people and adults see some immediate beneficial results, as they are instantly doing something.
- This is a non-confrontational setting, it is both natural and more relaxing to be outdoors than inside a therapy room. The client sets the pace.
- It does not require a huge amount of eye contact and can be more comfortable and less intimidating to walk side by side with me.
- Sometimes my job is to sit with the silence allowing the client to lead, this is far easier to achieve when outdoors in the open space.
- Allows the client to think clearly and creatively about your problems. Allowing you to find solutions quicker.
- Walking improves your health, energy levels, allowing for better sleep and more energy during the day, it is also time spent away from the work environment or classroom, off the screens looking up and observing, whilst really challenging your belief structure.
It has positive results in de-stressing and calming and getting to the route of problems especially during revision and exams which, especially for our teenagers living in London, often seems constant.
Walk & Talk locations
Hyde Park with its walks around the lake and ornamental gardens. Meeting point is at The Serpentine Lido café, where you are able to wait while we walk, next to the car park on West Carriage Drive.
Bishops Park has the benefits of a variety of walks, in Fulham, running north along the River Thames, through tree lined avenues or a stroll around the ornamental gardens. Meeting point is at the Tea House Café, Bishops Avenue, SW6 6EA.
For children and young people it is also important for legal as well as safeguarding reasons that I am able to hand them over to you at the end of the session.
If you would like to track your child’s Walk and Talk session, we suggest you sign up to a free app called Life360, which enables you to track your child’s location from their phone.
We go out in all weathers, watching the change of the seasons. In the event that the weather is just not compatible with a productive therapeutic session such as extreme snow or ice, heavy rain or thunder, we will contact you first thing in the morning so that we can rearrange the appointment or transfer it to the therapy room at The Snug.
Please make sure that appropriate clothing for the weather is worn – comfortable footwear, sunscreen, a head covering, and a bottle of water in hot weather.
NOTE – Walk and Talk therapy is not suited to children or young adults who require a more structured form of therapy, some simply prefer to be indoors in a therapeutic setting. There are those who tend to run (metaphorically) when confronted with challenging emotions and there are those that find the outdoors overwhelming or have had a traumatic event that could be triggered. It is important to remember that we walk in a public park with dogs running freely and if your child is afraid of dogs this will need to be factored in.
