Nature Therapy
Nature (or walk and talk) therapy are counseling sessions that take place in nature, usually while walking! It’s easier to talk about hard things or feel uncomfortable feelings walking side by side in beautiful nature. Also, our bodies are living, breathing metaphors—so the literal movement of walking can actually help us become unstuck or help certain emotions to move through us.
Not only can it be easier to dive into the stuff that you never really want to dive into while you’re walking in nature, but studies (and probably your personal experience too) show that being outdoors while getting some light exercise relieves stress, generates positive emotions, and even improves your working memory and creativity!
The purpose of nature therapy isn’t just to make counseling comfortable and to reduce stress, anxiety and depression naturally. Being in nature–whether walking, sitting, or participating in nature meditations– can help you to reconnect to something larger than yourself. Paying attention to nature reminds us that we are all interconnected and interdependent; that we are all part of the web of life. It can help in working with themes of powerlessness, control and independence/dependence.
Possible benefits of nature therapy include:
- Increased mood
- Decreased stress and anxiety
- Increased sense of connection
- Decreased feelings of existential loneliness
- Reduction in feelings of anger and aggression
- Increased creativity
- Ability to think and solve problems more flexibly
- Increased ability to focus
There are so many possibilities to tailor what is going on in nature to specific things you want to work through or process. Contact me here for more information.
“A great silent space holds all of nature in its embrace. It also holds you.”
— Eckhart Tolle
