10 Signs Walk-and-Talk Therapy Could Be a Good Fit for You

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As more therapists are expanding mental health services beyond the walls of the office, people may find themselves wondering if walk-and-talk therapy is a good fit for them. Research shows that both physical movement and time in nature offer significant benefits for mental health, including boosting mood, lowering stress, enhancing regulation, and fostering confidence. Walk-and-talk sessions are unique because both the environment and physical movement can become a part of the treatment process. Here are 10 signs that walk-and-talk therapy may be a good fit for you:

1. You do your best processing while you’re moving. Not everyone processes information in the same way. Many people notice that their best conversations happen while they are in motion. For some people, physical movement also stirs mental movement. If this aligns with you, there’s a chance that a movement-based format of therapy could resonate.
2. Being in a clinic feels uncomfortable. Many people avoid therapy for a variety of reasons. But what if the location made it more approachable? Some people who try walk-and-talk therapy report, “I would never have gone to therapy, but when I saw that I could do walk-and-talk therapy, that felt so natural to me, and that was enough to get me to try it.” Being removed from a formal, clinical office can reduce a barrier to access for some people.
3. You want to feel more emotionally regulated when you go to therapy. Attending therapy is one of the most emotionally vulnerable experiences, and often brings up emotions that can feel difficult and, at times, overwhelming. For those who have difficulty feeling emotionally regulated, physical movement and time in nature can serve as scaffolding for the nervous system, allowing people to feel more in control of their emotional states and thus offering support for the emotional processing of topics.
4. You enjoy being in nature. Walk-and-talk sessions take place outdoors, often in parks, on trails, or other natural environments. Outdoor sessions provide nature connection—hearing birds, watching the leaves sway in the wind, feeling sunlight on the skin—all evolutionary signals of safety to the brain. Accessing natural resources that promote a sense of familiarity and regulation to the body and mind can help aid the therapeutic process.
5. You have ADHD, and movement feels more natural than sitting still. For some people, sitting still is genuinely difficult or uncomfortable. Walking sessions offer freedom from the constriction of sitting in the small four walls of the office, and for many people with ADHD, this feels more liberating and natural than sitting still.
6. You feel less socially inhibited when you don’t have to make direct eye contact the whole time. There can be many reasons that people prefer less eye contact—traumatic experiences, social anxiety, or neurodiversity. Sometimes, just the idea of sitting directly across from someone who expects eye contact is enough to make the skin crawl. Walking side by side along a trail limits eye contact, which, in turn, can reduce relational inhibition while still offering space to process in meaningful ways.
7. You are drawn to more experiential approaches to therapy. Walk-and-talk therapy often lends itself to more experiential, body-based, or somatic approaches to therapy. While the specific approach to therapy is based on what the clinician has been trained in, many walk-and-talk therapists offer approaches and techniques that draw on more experience-based modalities, such as adventure therapy, ecotherapy, nature-based therapy, somatic therapy, and transcendent approaches.
8. You want to make lifestyle changes that can support your mental health. If you want to adjust your lifestyle to support your mood, walk-and-talk therapy can be one way of kick-starting that process while incorporating behavior activation. Stepping away from screens, traffic, and the news, and stepping into the natural world provides one remedy for making lifestyle shifts that can support a sense of wellbeing. Getting out for a walk in the park can offer a strong foundation for lifestyle change integration.
9. You want to process emotions in a way that feels less direct. Some people do not have the language to voice their internal experiences when they begin therapy. Due to social conditioning, gender roles, or a lack of modeling within their family system, they may feel underdeveloped in identifying and expressing their emotions. Because nature is living, it often parallels elements of our lives in symbolic ways, offering a bridge to expression that is less direct and more approachable. Nature helps emotions to emerge symbolically. Mountains, rivers, trails, can become metaphors for grief, identity, challenge, struggle, or loneliness. “What do you see around us that represents your life right now?” is a strong way to practice self-expression without even having the words to voice it.
10. You want to feel less of a power differential in therapy. In most traditional forms of therapy, there is a significant power differential between the clinician and the client. The structure of therapy often reinforces hierarchy—the client enters into the therapist's space, where they may feel evaluated. For clients with authority wounds, shame, or histories of unequal relationships, this setup can recreate power dynamics they have experienced in other settings. Walk-and-talk sessions take place in a natural location where there is less of a power differential, where the session is co-created walking side by side, which can reduce feelings of being judged or evaluated, and increase a sense of collaboration within the therapeutic relationship.

Walk-and-talk therapy has benefits that the traditional office setting does not. Of course, not everyone prefers this format, and there are real trade-offs to consider before lacing up your walking shoes. Having a discussion with your therapist, or prospective therapist, about walk-and-talk sessions can help bring more clarity if walking and talking is right for you.

To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.