How outdoor therapy is helping people to heal
Alongside our cycling programmes, Hop-On’s co-founders offer Eco-Coaching – a form of coaching which takes place outdoors. For our members, cycling or walking in nature with our coaches provides a supportive environment to work through any challenges (personal or professional). It’s powerful to witness the shift in mindset. This week, a Guardian article showcased the benefits of this approach. You can find an excerpt from the article below. If you’d like to learn more or book your Eco-Coaching session, please contact our team.
Walking or running in nature with a therapist is helping people heal
Outdoor therapy can help people to become reflective and their body language while moving gives clues to their feelings. Covid has transformed the way many of us work and that includes the people who look after our mental health. For much of lockdown, psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists have all had to venture into the world of online therapy, tackling their clients’ issues via a computer screen, and often the experience has felt less than ideal for all those involved.
But throughout much of lockdown, another option has become increasingly popular: combining therapy with the benefits of the great outdoors. The British Psychological Society (BPS) issued guidance on this outdoor approach last summer, advising its members on how best to take their work outside, addressing issues such as confidentiality and the absence of a boundaried space. Yet many therapists ditched the four walls and a couch approach a long time ago and have been working out in nature for years.
“There’s something hugely freeing about being in open space and some people go deeper far sooner than they would do in a room,” says Collier. “The part of the brain that is responsible for ruminative and negative thoughts – the subgenual prefrontal cortex – has been shown to quieten when we connect with nature, which gives people more space to process their problems.” Read the full article here.
Our coaches Fozia and Shahida offer cycling and walking Eco-Coaching. If you’d like to learn more or book your Eco-Coaching session, please contact our team.