Looking for therapy and want to try it outdoors?

It works!

Traditional psychological therapy sessions aim to help you understand and create meaning from the emotional and psychological difficulties you are experiencing and usually take place in an indoor setting. Therapy sessions outside have the same aim, except that they take place outdoors; surrounded by nature.

I’ve spent most of my NHS working life sitting in therapy rooms with clients and wishing that I could see them in a more natural environment. As an Occupational Therapist, I used to take people out all the time – gardening, shopping, walking in parks and am again increasingly drawn to doing more outdoor therapy.

We know intuitively that being outdoors in natural spaces can be extremely restorative and helpful to our physical and mental health.

Working outdoors isn’t for everyone, but working in natural spaces can significantly improve the benefits of therapy for some people and the parks and spaces in the centre of Valencia can and do enhance the therapy process.

Therapy outside builds upon our experience of breathing, moving, and being in the natural world bringing curiosity to the environment. It can you develop a sense of you relate to yourself and others in the world.

Therapy can be a demanding experience, and sometimes it can feel very intense when indoors. Working outdoors can and does lessen the intensity of the formal therapeutic interaction. The outdoors helpsdiffuse some of the intensity by focusing on the surroundings.

Walking alongside your therapist can also help a person feel more at ease as you aren’t sat “face to face” with a therapist and static. The dynamic nature of outdoor work can also facilitate change as we learn that nature is always changing and adapting to new environmental conditions.

Nature-facilitated therapy still adheres to the traditional boundaries, including a jointly agreed focus for our work and confidentiality.

I offer 75 minute sessions outdoors and the therapy can take the form of sitting, walking and talking and/or mindfulness. Our first initial chat is free. For some sessions, we may decide to sit together in a specific spot for the entire time or alternatively take a leisurely walk. I am always flexible and I encourage clients to make suggestions. Feel free to bring your dog!

I am an English speaking UK registered Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and mindfulness teacher, in Valencia. I work with a range of common mental health issues. Check out our website www.outofsynctherapy.com