Walking therapy: consulting on foot

What if the session didn't take place in an office? Walking therapy (or walk-and-talk therapy) means holding the psychological session outdoors, on foot, at a gentle pace, in a quiet spot in La Ciotat (a park, the seafront, etc.). The therapeutic framework stays the same: confidentiality, session length, regularity, work on what concerns you. Only the setting changes, and with it, often, the way you speak and feel.

This is not about exercise. We walk slowly, we stop whenever it feels right, we sit down if that's more comfortable. What matters is what happens for you, not the distance covered.

What this setting can change

A less formal, less intimidating setting

Walking through the door of a practice can already be an ordeal. For many people, and particularly for anxious parents, sitting face to face in an office can evoke an exam or a judgment: the fear of being assessed as a parent, of “answering wrongly”, of not finding the words in front of someone who is looking at you.

Walking side by side shifts the relationship. There is no frontal gaze to hold, no silence weighing on the room: the landscape, the rhythm of your steps and looking in the same direction make speech flow more easily. Silence becomes easier to live with. Everyone moves at their own pace, with no need to “hold yourself together” or to “present well”.

Movement: when the body takes part

Psychological difficulties are not only experienced “in the head”: tension, a knot in the stomach, shortness of breath, restlessness. Setting the body in motion, even gently, offers another foothold for getting through these states. Walking also helps us think. It supports creative thinking, which can help break out of rumination and see a situation from a different angle.

Here, movement is a support, never a goal. I take particular care that this approach does not turn into an injunction to “move more” or to “push yourself”.

Contact with nature

Spending time in natural settings is associated with measurable effects on well-being: exposure to green spaces is linked to better health indicators, including lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and heart rate, as well as reduced anxiety, depression and negative affect. These findings do not make nature a miracle cure. They indicate that it can offer a soothing environment, conducive to slowing down, breathing and feeling present.

Who is it for?

Walking therapy may suit you if:

• you are an anxious or overwhelmed parent, and the idea of an office holds you back;
• you feel “cramped” in an office, or judged in a face-to-face setting;
• you struggle to put words to what you feel;
• you feel at ease outdoors and movement helps you feel more yourself;
• you want support that is more flexible in form, without losing any seriousness.

It can also alternate with sessions at the practice, depending on your needs and the weather.

How does it work?

1. A first conversation (by phone or at the practice) to get acquainted, understand your request and check that this format suits you.
2. An outdoor session lasting the same as a standard consultation, along a quiet and accessible route.
3. Your own pace: we walk, we stop, we sit. No performance is expected.
4. Ongoing adjustment: if the format doesn't suit you, or if the weather requires it, the session takes place at the practice or by video.

• Anxiety
• Depression
• ADHD
• Chronic pain