The oldest Therapy Room in the world has no walls
There is a therapy room I keep coming back to. It has no four walls, no clock ticking on the desk, no bright lights overhead or tissues in the corner. It's unpredictable, just like humans; sometimes happy and golden, blue and bright; sometimes grey and heavy, with rain and wind inside (Don’t worry I am aware of the rhyme)
The one that comes to mind has existed long before therapy had a name. A place our ancestors returned to when something needed releasing: Seeking shelter under the shade of a tree. Sitting by a stream whilst letting the sound of water wash away heaviness and refresh their soul. Or tending to gardens or climbing hills to gain perspective. Nature is the ultimate reminder of the ebbs and flows of life, seasons and patterns we come across every day.
A part of nature
When you're stressed, your body activates what's known as the sympathetic nervous system: the alert state: Cortisol rises, heart rate increases, muscles brace. This is your body doing its job, preparing you to respond to a threat. But when that stress doesn't resolve, the system stays switched on. Over time, chronic activation is linked to anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and physical illness.
Here's what's remarkable: research shows that time in nature begins to reverse chronic stress within days. Studies have found a steep decline in cortisol and lower perceived stress among participants after just seven days of spending time outdoors.
There's even something happening beneath the surface. Contact with soil triggers serotonin release in the brain, the same neurotransmitter associated with mood, calm, and emotional regulation. We are wired to feel better outside. The earth has always known it. The western world forgot it but slowly, science catching up and we remember.
Your brain needs green
Here's why: modern life can sometimes come with dull colours or an overload of shades and hues, it demands a particular kind of attention: the focused, effortful concentration we pour into screens, decisions, tasks, and worries. This kind of attention depletes us. It is not our design and tires us out in ways we don't always notice or name.
But here comes nature asking nothing of us in return: A river moving. Leaves shifting in the wind. Light changes on water; moving through its changes without effort or our influence. I believe it is in that space, where all things are hushed, the mind and body is quietly invited to restore itself and remember its place.
This is why a walk can make an unsolvable problem feel more manageable. It's not a distraction. It's restoration.
What science has to say
Research consistently shows that both green spaces and blue spaces offer measurable mental health benefits. People with good access to natural environments are significantly more likely to report better mental wellbeing. Studies have found positive impacts on depression, anxiety, sleep, and concentration, as well as improvements in resilience and life coping skills among people who regularly spend time in nature.
A large UK programme called A Dose of Nature ran 12-week nature-based interventions for people experiencing depression and anxiety. The results showed an average increase of 69% in self-reported wellbeing. Participants described improvements in mood, reduced anxiety, greater confidence, and new friendships. Some even reduced their medication as a result. Several started volunteering to give back.
Why Side-by-Side Changes Things
One of the less obvious but deeply important aspects of outdoor therapy is the change in physical dynamic. In a traditional therapy room, two people sit facing each other: that direct, sustained eye contact can, especially for those carrying trauma, subtly activate a survival response that is unhelpful in the therapeutic space. The body interprets intensity as threat, even when the mind knows it is safe.
Walking side by side removes that. Eye contact becomes occasional and natural, rather than sustained and direct. The body relaxes, the nervous system is invited to settle in its new surrounding. And in that state of safety, the things that felt impossible to say indoors sometimes find their way out more easily. The environment quietly works in the background, becoming a co-therapist, and aiding the deepening of the therapeutic relationship.
Why I Take Counselling Outside
Walk and Talk is something I offer because I have seen how conversations expand and gain depth when taken outside. The intensity that some people find in the therapy room has space to breathe — more room to occupy.
Openness creates safety. Nature feels familiar. And once someone starts moving, something shifts, stagnation is left behind. There is something quietly powerful about putting one foot in front of the other, a physical act that mirrors the work happening inside. Not to forget the weather up on the North Coast, the act of going out regardless; choosing to show up when it's grey, cold, or raining. Again a metaphor, the act of overcoming the elements starts to feel a lot like overcoming everything else. You walked through it. You came out the other side, maybe wet, but alive. Feeling stuck is no longer an option and the gap between who you were and who you are becoming grows a little smaller with each walk.
The oldest therapy room in the world has been there all along. And the door is always open.
Sources
Kaplan, S. (1995). Attention Restoration Theory. Psychological Science.
White, M. et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports.
Bowler, D. et al. (2010). A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health.
Lowry, C. et al. (2007). Identification of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system. Neuroscience.
Bloomfield, D. (2017). What makes nature-based interventions for mental health successful? BJPsych International.
Henderson-Wilson, C. & Weerasuriya, R. (2017). Feel blue, touch green. BJPsych International.
Bowen, D. et al. (2016). Wilderness adventure therapy affects the mental health of youth participants. Evaluation and Program Planning.
Van Der Kolk, B. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin.