Walk and Talk & Eco-therapy

Finding a Way That Suits You

Everyone’s needs, experiences, and preferences are different, and the way we work together can be shaped around what feels most supportive for you. You might prefer the grounding presence of meeting in a quiet, welcoming room, the flexibility of connecting online from anywhere, or the gentle rhythm of walking and talking outdoors in nature. There is no single “right” way to do counselling, each option is equally valid, offering its own unique space for reflection, growth, and emotional support.

You can also move between or among the different ways of working if you’d like, choosing what feels best in each moment or as your needs change over time. Together, we can explore which approach, or combination of approaches feels most comfortable and helpful for you.

Outdoor therapy also known as nature-based therapy, eco-therapy, or walk and talk therapy, offers a gentle and expansive environment where reflection, movement, and calm can support your emotional processing. Walking or sitting in natural surroundings, among trees, water, or open space allows the body and mind to move together and creates a different kind of grounding.

Nature can mirror life itself, sometimes still, sometimes flowing, giving perspective and space to notice thoughts, feelings, and patterns in a new way. Some find that walking and talking outdoors less confrontational than sitting opposite a therapist, which helps emotions flow, eases tension, and supports reflection, while others simply enjoy the quiet calm of being in nature.

Outdoor therapy is equally valid, offering a unique way of exploring experiences such as grief, life transitions, stress, or personal growth. It is not “better” than other ways of working, it is simply another path to being held and supported.

Outdoor sessions can offer:

Walk and talk sessions that combine movement with reflection
A natural environment to support emotional processing and calm
A gentle rhythm that mirrors life’s ebb and flow
Space to notice thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations

Wherever we meet , indoors, online, or in nature the aim is the same: to create a compassionate, supportive space where your experiences can be explored at your own pace, and where you can feel heard, understood, and held.

The fields and paths a stones throw from my therapy practice

“Nature is a great healer of the human spirit.” – Mary Jane Rust

Why Eco-therapy

Nature has profound effects on mind and body:

Calms the nervous system, reducing stress hormones and promoting relaxation
Restores attention and mental clarity, giving the mind a gentle break from overthinking
Supports mood and emotional regulation, helping with anxiety, sadness, and overwhelm
Encourages resilience and coping, reflecting life’s rhythms of growth, change, and renewal

Wild Therapy and Connection

Drawing on Nick Totton’s work in Wild Therapy, eco-therapy recognises that humans are deeply connected to the wider-than-human world. Totton describes wildness as “a continual tendency towards complexity,” reminding us that our inner lives are naturally intricate and relational. Working outdoors can shift perspective, bringing insights from the environment, the wind, the trees, the textures of the land, back into our awareness and into therapy.

My Personal Eco-therapy Experience

“I am afraid of the unknown.”

This fear began during lockdown, as I explored the paths leading out from my doorstep. Each day I stepped through a new portal, immersing my senses in a field of deep listening. I was fascinated by everything, something I hadn’t experienced since childhood. Lockdown allowed me to go within and find myself, away from the distractions of busy life. Being with nature became a map guiding me back home to myself. I found my true nature in nature: to be wild, authentic, and untamed, where I matter and am matter.

My training included 12 days of eco-therapy where I experienced immersive outdoor modules, embodiment practices, and non-stylised environmental movement in the woodlands, hills, and lakes of Wales. Alongside this, my work as a Pilates movement coach informs how I inhabit the BodyMind as a living, integrative process.

Put simply, this approach helps you tune into your body and mind together, using movement and embodied awareness to connect more deeply with your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This perspective enriches eco-therapy by creating space for reflection, presence, and connection that is grounded in both body and mind.

Practical Guidance

Natural environments can be uneven or muddy. Wearing comfortable footwear with tread and weather-appropriate clothing helps you feel grounded and safe. Occasionally, sessions may be gently interrupted by passersby or environmental sounds; these moments usually become part of the experience rather than a distraction.

Eco-therapy invites you to connect with both your inner world and the natural world, offering a flexible, grounding, and restorative space where thoughts, feelings, and experiences can be explored relationally, safely, and at your own pace.