Walk and Talk Therapy
In my practice, Walk and Talk Therapy or therapy in nature is an extension of the Individual Therapy I provide. These outdoor sessions are offered for active clients local to the NW Austin, TX area.
I provide additional information before a walk and talk therapy session is scheduled.
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Fee: Same as individual therapy
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My personal and professional context for these sessions
Since opening my own private practice in 2021, I have offered walk and talk sessions seasonally for my active clients as needed. I have also facilitated walks with my mental healthcare colleagues out in nature, often preferring this over meeting indoors.​
​Due to my experience, I am familiar with providing walk and talk and nature sessions in a way that feels comfortable and safe, and tailored to each person or group's needs. I recommend consulting your primary care doctor first if you have any health issues that may hinder mobility or make it difficult to meet in an outdoor setting due to personal reactions to potential allergens and exposure to the elements.
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My early childhood in the Philippines, east of Manila, and being close with family who immigrated to New Zealand, a country known for their culture with nature, has led to a lifelong love for natural environments and landscapes. For an extended time, in middle childhood to adolescence, I was mostly disconnected from this, living a suburban lifestyle in the United States without transportation to visit larger, natural areas. I learned to make do with a lot of time indoors. Yet my love for nature found a way. The books and games I enjoyed had a focus on exploring and caring for the natural world. As an adult, I began to reconnect with nature outdoors again, on a deeper and more holistic level.
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Receiving walk and talk, and nature sessions
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I believe that connecting with nature, going for walks and hikes, shouldn't be reserved for those who consider themselves "outdoorsy" or educated in ecology or even indigenous practices they didn't grow into. Sometimes a trained or academic understanding of nature can get in the way rather than support connection with ourselves and the natural world around us.
I support clients to connect mindfully with nature in a way that feels authentic and intuitive to them. A way of connecting that may have been severed or blocked in our lifetime or intergenerationally in our families. Our shared modern culture often supports this disconnection, prioritizing anything man-made.
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In walk and talk sessions, I recognize and support a personal approach for each client with how much they want to connect with the natural surroundings as part of therapy. For some, nature may be experienced as more of a supportive atmosphere that allows them to connect internally with themselves with ease. Sometimes we may sit under a tree for shade or by a body of water, enjoying the sight and sound for the majority of our session rather than walk and talk.
Meeting outside of a screen or office environment can create a more casual experience which can benefit those who, at times, have anxiety or feel pressure to act a certain way in a more formal meeting. Those with a difficult or complicated experience with their bodies may also benefit from the more natural and non-performative physical activity of walking during a session as it may support them with practicing body neutrality. Just like nature, our bodies and ourselves are companions, whole as they are, and are not tools to meet an artificial agenda.
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I assess with each client or person I meet with what their intention may be for a walk and talk session or session outside in nature. This is so meeting is aligned with what you're wanting overall with your well-being rather than distracts from it.
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Here are Google Map Lists in the Austin, TX area for spaces to connect with nature.
Nature Spaces in ATX
At this time, I meet with clients at a specific park in the NW Austin area. I only share the address directly for added privacy with our walk and talk sessions.
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