Sunday, August 3, 2008

New Walk and Talk Therapy Available

I recently read this article on WebMD:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/walk-and-talk-therapy

In nutshell, it is about the benefits of walking during talk therapy. Benefits include all of the obvious benefits of exercise, plus a reduced sense of pressure that the typical face-to-face stance of a typical therapy session can bring up. Sometimes physical movement can help clients move forward on stuck issues, and bilateral stimulation (ie-walking) can also be calming.

Of course, there are issues to address. What if we run into somebody that you or I know? What if you become emotional during a walking session, or you don't feel safe expressing emotions during a session because we are walking? These are all issues to address and plan out beforehand.

If you are my current client you KNOW that I highly recommend exercise barring physical issues that might keep you from exercising. I believe exercise is helpful for depression, anxiety, even trauma issues. Walking during a session can possibly help challenge stuck dynamics.

If you are a current client and would like to try this, let me know! If you are a new client who is interested, also feel free to bring this up during our intake session. We can discuss the pros and cons and in all likelihood try a walking session. Plan on bringing your walking shoes and sunscreen!