Walk and Talk Therapy in New Jersey

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.”

– Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

Walk and Talk Therapy is an opportunity to meet with a therapist in an active session where during the 50 minutes, the therapist and client walk and talk with each other. 

For me, Walk and Talk Therapy is a way to meet with a client in person without a face mask. Although it is mandatory for therapists and their clients to sit masked in a private practice setting, this restriction does not exist in an outdoor space. Although there is a consent form you would need to sign outlining the details of a walk and talk session, we would not only be able to be together, but also see one another as we walk and talk.

What is Walk and Talk Therapy like?

Walk and Talk Therapy brings action to a session. Therapist and client walk together as they talk and this can often lead to not only being in one’s mind, but also in one’s body as both are active during the session. 

For me, I set my pace to the pace of my client and follow. In many ways, we can notice and observe together the pace of one’s self and body in motion during the session. This can then be observed in real time with one another. Whatever someone is speaking of, with the body in motion, new insights, often somatic based, can come on line and be observed and spoken about to garner a deeper understanding of how the body interacts with the mind. 

We can also look forward to where we are walking or look at one another as we walk and talk. Often movement itself can open one up to feel safe to speak about whatever they wish to bring into the session. Without a small space where two people are seated and looking at one another, there is a sense of space, expansion, and movement, particularly forward momentum as we walk together, that can be enlivening and take some of the pressure off of what may happen in a given therapy room. 

Benefits of Walk and Talk Therapy

Some of the benefits I observe from my sessions conducted via a Walk and Talk Therapy session include;

  1. Presence – we are together in person without masks on.
  2. Being able to not only observe what is being said and spoken, but also the body and its pace, momentum, and movement which allows for mind and body to connect during a session.
  3. Being in the outdoors and feeling other elements intertwine with the work unfolding in the session which may provide additional context.
  4. If it is difficult to make/hold eye contact, Walk and Talk Therapy sessions allow many other natural places for your eyes to move to, which may take the pressure off of being in direct eye contact.
  5. With forward momentum of the walk, it may be easier to be able to express one’s self rather than being situated in a seated position.

Where do I provide Walk and Talk Therapy?

Currently, I reside in Jersey City, NJ so I can serve clients in the surrounding area with the Walk and Talk Therapy option.

If you are interested in a Walk and Talk Therapy session,  we will discuss this together when we schedule your session. You will need to sign a consent form to agree to the Walk and Talk Therapy session. From there, we will agree to meet at a particular location and meet at the appointed day and time.

There is no need to bring anything special to the session – just yourself and whatever else you would normally carry with you. Feel free to bring your dog along as well. 

The best part? We can meet in person without wearing masks so we can see one another as we walk and talk.

If interested in scheduling a Walk and Talk Therapy session in Jersey City, NJ, please feel free to reach out to me.

Contact Lisa