The form of Walk and Talk Therapy I offer can be understood as a nature-informed form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (BABCP, 2025), combining evidence-based psychological approaches with the benefits of movement and contact with natural environments. Research suggests that nature-based and outdoor therapeutic approaches can support well-being by reducing stress, improving attention, supporting emotional regulation, and creating opportunities for reflection and change.

Walk and Talk Therapy may be particularly helpful for people experiencing anxiety, stress, low mood, burnout, rumination, or life transitions, as well as those who feel more comfortable engaging in therapy through movement and a less formal setting. It can also support people who feel disconnected from themselves, others, or nature, or who wish to explore meaning, values, and their relationship with the environment.

We typically meet at a pre-arranged park or quiet outdoor location, beginning with a brief check-in before our walk. We move at a comfortable pace, focusing on what feels most important that day. The structure remains that of a therapy session: thoughtful, confidential, and focused on your goals, with the outdoor environment becoming an additional therapeutic resource.

As we walk, we explore thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and recurring patterns in a natural and unhurried way. Movement can support reflection and emotional processing, while the outdoor setting offers opportunities to engage with the present moment. We may use breathing, the feeling of your feet on the ground, or awareness of your surroundings as grounding and mindfulness practices. Nature can also offer metaphors for change, growth, adaptation, and resilience.

Nature-informed approaches recognize that nature can be:

A supportive therapeutic environment: our surroundings can influence mood, attention, stress, and reflection (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1998).
Part of our sense of self: connecting with nature can support belonging, presence, and connection (Bragg, 1996).
Part of our identity and values: exploring our relationship with the natural world can reveal what matters to us (Clayton, 2003).
A moment-to-moment experience: noticing sounds, sensations, movement, and surroundings can encourage mindfulness, attention restoration, and flow (Stokols et al., 2009).

Being outdoors can also create space to step outside the pace and demands of modern life. Daily routines can easily become shaped by constant stimulation, productivity pressures, digital demands, and expectations. Nature can offer a pause: an opportunity to reconnect with our bodies, slow down, and reflect on the patterns, choices, and environments that influence our well-being.

From a systems perspective, therapy can explore how personal experiences connect with wider social, cultural, and ecological contexts. The ways we live, work, consume, and relate to others are influenced by larger systems that can contribute to stress, disconnection, inequality, and environmental harm. Exploring these connections is not about individual blame, but about developing awareness, clarifying values, and considering meaningful ways of living.

Sessions may also explore your relationship with nature, environmental concerns, or the emotional impact of the ecological and climate crisis. Ecological grief, climate anxiety, helplessness, or disconnection from nature can become important themes. Together, we can explore your values, reconnect with meaningful forms of nature connection, and identify concrete actions that express what matters to you.

The work remains grounded in evidence-based psychological principles, including CBT, mindfulness-based approaches, and values-oriented work from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The aim is not simply to spend time outdoors, but to use movement, nature, and psychological processes to support greater awareness, emotional flexibility, and meaningful change.

We end each session by reflecting on what emerged and identifying something practical to carry into the week. The process is thoughtful and intentional, supported by movement, nature, and the therapeutic relationship, helping you develop greater self-understanding, resilience, and connection with yourself and the world around you.