Journal · Walk & talk · 9 min read
Therapy in nature: does walk and talk therapy work?
I hold sessions in Kew, so I am not a neutral party. Here is the evidence for therapy in nature weighed as honestly as I can, including where it is thin.
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Harjeet Hayre
Integrative Psychotherapist · BACP Registered Member · NHS-experienced Reviewed September 2026 · About Harjeet
What walk and talk therapy is
A full psychotherapy session held while walking outdoors, rather than seated in a room. Same confidentiality, same relationship, same depth. BACP describes outdoor therapy as taking counselling out of the therapy room and into the great outdoors and notes it can suit people who find it easier to talk when moving.
The evidence for nature itself
The strongest data are about nature, not therapy. A study of 19,806 people in England found that spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature was associated with consistently higher health and wellbeing, that it did not matter how the time was accumulated and that benefits peaked at 200 to 300 minutes. It is a large, careful study but it is cross-sectional and self-reported, so "associated with" is the right verb.
A smaller experimental study asked people to take a 90-minute walk in either a natural or an urban setting. Only the nature walk reduced rumination, the repetitive negative thinking that feeds anxiety and depression and it reduced activity in a brain region linked to it. Thirty-eight participants is a small sample, so it is a signal rather than a verdict, but it is a suggestive one for anyone whose mind runs in loops.
The evidence for therapy outdoors
A 2020 review in Clinical Psychology Review synthesised 38 studies of talking therapy in natural outdoor spaces, drawing on the experience of 322 practitioners and 163 clients. It found consistent benefits: a sense of mutuality between client and therapist, greater freedom of expression, mind-body holism and connectedness. It also found the risks, chiefly to confidentiality and predictability, were manageable through informed consent, clear contracting and planning. This is a synthesis of experience rather than an outcome trial, which the authors say plainly.
Closer to home, an NHS Talking Therapies pilot in Birmingham parks reported that 58% of clients reached recovery after eight to twelve walking sessions, above the NHS benchmark of 50%. It is a service audit not a randomised trial and a small pilot study of walk and talk sessions found reduced distress and improved wellbeing in its handful of participants.
The honest summary
Nature contact is well supported. Walking therapy is promising, with consistent qualitative findings and encouraging service data, but no large randomised trials yet. I would not claim it is better than a room. I would claim, with evidence, that for many people it is at least as good and considerably easier to face.
Why people find it easier
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No eye contact to manage. Side-by-side conversation lowers the intensity. This matters especially for neurodivergent clients and anyone with social anxiety.
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Movement gives feelings somewhere to go. The rhythm of walking seems to loosen thinking that has been circling.
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The nervous system settles. The rumination finding above is the closest research gets to explaining what clients describe.
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It is less clinical. For young people and for adults who never pictured themselves in therapy, a walk is a smaller step than a consulting room.
How confidentiality works outdoors
BACP is clear that confidentiality is a vital consideration outdoors: the therapist must make sure you are not overheard or meet people you know, risk-assess the route and agree in advance what happens if you meet someone, what happens in an emergency and what happens in bad weather. The Birmingham pilot wrote the limits of confidentiality in a public space into every contract. Kew helps: 132 hectares of grounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003 and founded in 1759, with long, quiet paths away from the main routes.
If you would like to try it, my walk and talk therapy page covers the practicalities, fees and the free introductory call. It pairs particularly well with work on anxiety and low mood and it is easy to reach from many fo the London Boroughs.
Qualitative research is consistently positive and an NHS pilot reported above-benchmark recovery rates, but there are no large randomised trials yet. The evidence for nature contact itself is strong.2, 4, 5
Yes, with limits that must be agreed in advance for a public space: route choice, what happens if you meet someone and pausing when paths get busy.1
At least 120 minutes a week was associated with better health and wellbeing in a large English study, however it was accumulated.2
Sources
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BACP. Outdoor therapy.
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White, M.P. et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and well-being. Scientific Reports, 9, 7730.
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Bratman, G.N. et al. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. PNAS, 112(28), 85678572.
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Cooley, S.J., Jones, C.R., Kurtz, A. and Robertson, N. (2020). "Into the Wild": a meta-synthesis of talking therapy in natural outdoor spaces. Clinical Psychology Review, 77, 101841.
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Davies, S. (2024). Walking and talking. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, BACP.
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Prince-Llewellyn, H. and McCarthy, P.J. (2024). Walking and talking for well-being. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research.
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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; UNESCO World Heritage List, ref. 1084 (inscribed 2003).
This article is general information from a registered psychotherapist, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis, call 999, NHS 111 and select the mental health option or the Samaritans free on 116 123.
Ready when you are.
A free introductory call, no forms and no obligation. Just a quiet conversation to see whether working together feels right.