‘Spending time in natural outdoor spaces nurtures our physical, emotional and spiritual existence, enabling us to sense, think, feel and act as interdependent beings, interconnected with the whole community of life’ (Cohen, 1998).
Taking counselling to an outdoor environment can be hugely beneficial. Research has shown that simply being outdoors and connected to nature can boost our mood. Combining this with exercise during therapy adds to the mix.
I offer two different terrains for our walks:
Woodland and Views
This walk will take us through a couple of woodland areas, one being a bluebell wood. It also gives us views over the downs. Sometimes farm animals can be seen as we walk between woods. We come back onto a recreation ground to finish our walk. The walk includes a short hill and gets muddy after rain. You would need to wear walking boots or wellies. There are no benches for the duration of this walk and it would not be suitable for people with balance issues or people who are not used to walking in the countryside.
‘And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.’ -John Muir
Riverside Walk
This is a much flatter walk along the River Stour. The path is more solid and it gets less muddy. This walk can get busier than the woodland and views walk. There are benches to sit on along the way to rest.
‘No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man’ -Heraclutus
Please contact me if you would like to know more or if you are interested to know if this form of therapy would be suitable for your needs.
HM counselling 