Outdoor talking therapies (walk-and-talk)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage

What it is

Outdoor talking therapy means holding counselling or psychotherapy sessions in natural or semi-natural outdoor places, ranging from sitting on a park bench or walking a footpath ("walk and talk") to more active sessions with clients who already have a relationship with outdoor pursuits. Jordan and…

Format

• There is no fixed phase model or session count in the sources; the structure below organises what the guidance and service accounts describe.
• Phase 2: Contracting. Goal: an explicit outdoor contract. Services completed a shared written contract before the first outdoor session following BPS guidance, setting out the limits of confidentiality in public spaces. Contract content is detailed in section 4. Move on when: the contract is signed…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Phase 0: Therapist readiness. Goal: decide whether outdoor work fits your competence, setting and organisation. Reflect on why this approach, why this client and why now, and whether going outside deepens the therapeutic task or moves away from it. Explore your own process in nature and seek outdoor-specific training and supervision. Practitioners report a lack of training and supervision, and Revell and McLeod…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• How change is thought to happen, as practitioners describe it: walking side by side reduces sustained eye contact and the intensity of the face-to-face gaze, which some clients find makes difficult feelings easier to speak; the shared, moving activity encourages a more collaborative, equal…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• measures completed outdoors in rain or haste. Working: scores stable or improving.
• the client never wanting to stop (possible avoidance). Working: positions are used purposefully.
• check-outs missed; the procedure lapsing over time. Working: every session has a logged start and end.
• contracts signed without discussion; omitted items emerging later. Working: client can restate the key points.
• sessions drifting over time; social chat continuing after the end. Working: the client recognises the session's boundaries.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.