Taking Therapy Outdoors (Currently no spaces available for outdoor work).
| "I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir |  |
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I am increasingly interested in the power of nature and the natural world on the mental health of the individual. The link between walking outdoors and mood is not new and has been written about for hundreds of years. What is more recent is the growing body of research showing how the brain and body changes when walking in nature or ‘bathing’ in forests; how sun on our skin releases serotonin in the brain or weeding in the garden and contact with certain bacteria can further increase serotonin levels, thus altering mood. Science is showing us to be fact, what we feel instinctively in our bodies, to be true |
"Every day I walk into a state of wellbeing and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it." Søren Kierkegaard
I recently completed a training in taking therapy outdoors with Hayley Marshall in Derbyshire (www.centrefornaturalreflection.co.uk.) This helped inform my theory and practise in this area to work with people to effect personal change both with and within nature. I am currently enjoying integrating my relational transactional analysis approach with my love and passion for outdoor spaces.
I work in this way in the beautiful woods and beaches near my home in Berwickshire and East Lothian. Sessions follow the same arrangements in terms of session length and cost as my usual work unless otherwise contracted for. Issues of confidentiality and ethical practice are key to my work and will be contracted specifically to take account of the nature of the open space we find ourselves in. The sessions take the form of walking outdoors at your own pace and at times we may stop or find somewhere to sit if appropriate to the work. We may alter our route or stick to the same path. All of this will be part of the work, as will be how we negotiate between us where our weekly journeys outdoors take us.
If you are interested in this sort of work, please contact Katie for an initial assessment session.
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