Four Real Talk Reasons Outdoor Intensives Rock!

I love being a therapist. I’ve known for longer than I care to admit that offering people support, care, and unconditional positive regard was undoubtedly the correct vocation for me, and even when it has been hard, I’ve never wanted to leave it. 

That said, I both love it and have seen drawbacks in the traditional therapy model. I have wanted sessions to be longer; I have wanted more variety in scenery; I have wanted to give my clients more than the weekly one-hour structure offered. These are just some of the reasons that I switched to Outdoor Therapy Intensives. Although I’ve written other pieces about the benefits of intensives, I realized recently that I use WAY different language when I’m telling friends and family about my work than I do on the blog.

As such, I wanted to throw out some real-talk reasons these unique therapeutic experiences are totally awesome:

1. There is less sustained eye contact.

Have you ever been in therapy and thought, “Ugh the therapist is just staring at me… Should I say something? Did I say the wrong thing? Do I make eye contact back…?” No shade to the therapy office, but sometimes you can feel like you are being analyzed in there. It is easy to feel more like a specimen than a person.

Outdoors, there is less of that because we are walking and, therefore, looking forward so we don’t literally trip. We will spend the majority of the session without you being stared at and, hopefully, feeling less like you’re in a fish bowl.

2. Being outside feels good.

I can ramble on for an unreasonable amount of time about the positive impacts being outside has on your nervous system (and the associated neuroscience), but the long and short of it is: being outdoors feels nice. It is a “breath of fresh air”, as it were. Whether you enjoy the breeze, the sun, the shade, the views, the sounds, or the movement, human beings are wired to be out in nature, and our brains and bodies respond well to that environment. 

Further, you do not have to do or be anything specific to reap those benefits. You don’t have to be yoked and trail running to the top of a mountain, or dressed in “woodland chic”, or have the fanciest outdoor gear to experience the soothing effects of being outdoors. Frankly, you can sit outside on the grass for a few minutes and feel a meaningful difference. This experience makes being outside the perfect “amuse-bouche” -or palate cleanser- to therapeutic work. Chances are, even if you aren’t loving processing the tough stuff (and, let’s be honest, who does?), you will enjoy the journey.

3. There are so many unique tools (and extra time!) to use.

Maybe you’ve “therapied” a lot in your life. You’ve done the breathing, and learned about the cognitive distortions, and named narratives, and tried the grounding techniques, and so on. Often, by the time the therapist explains and walks you through these concepts, you may have time to run through an exercise, what, once…? Maybe twice?

          Although those are all solid, evidence-based techniques, there is rarely enough time in session to find your groove with them. It is one thing to spend ten minutes with a grounding exercise in a standard session, but outdoor intensives offer grounding that engages your senses for hours at a time. We get to take all of those tools that you have tried before, plus a few new ones, and give you meaningful time to practice and refine them in a way that lands for you.

Additionally, outdoor intensives also incorporate tools you might never have tried before: touching trees, holding or skipping rocks, putting your feet in the water, reflecting on the natural life cycles of plants, discussing animal encounters (like those cheeky chipmunks!), et cetera. Depending on the trail you choose, you might find insight about yourself, your family, or your life in completely new and unexpected places. If you crave a therapeutic experience that is different than what you have had before, this is definitely a standout reason to try!

4. You don’t have to jump straight back into life's chaos after pouring your heart out.

Have you ever had a difficult therapy session that, once it ended, left you with approximately three minutes to take some deep breaths, wipe the tears off your face, adjust your makeup, and go to the bathroom before going straight into a work meeting or back out to your children? I have, and it sucks. It is neither unheard of nor uncommon- especially since the invention of telehealth- to squeeze therapy into whatever one-hour space is available, whether it is convenient or not. And I get it: it is better than not getting therapy at all.

         Here's my PSA: Nobody needs to be out there emotionally raw-dogging their afternoon because they didn’t have time to self-soothe after processing something painful in a therapy session. To be clear,  you will be affected afterward regardless, but it hits different when you have had a moment to get your mind right.

Outdoor therapy intensives are so-named because they are, in fact, “intense”, both in scope and time: Because it is uninterrupted therapy time, you can process your deepest wounds without having to close up and re-start next week; Because it is several hours long, we have significantly more time to adequately close the wounds before returning to your daily life; And, let’s not forget, because we are going into nature, there is a strong likelihood that you will have to commute at least 30 minutes before getting back home, so you have additional drive time to chill. Outdoor therapy intensives are naturally (and unapologetically) incompatible with diving right back into the grind, so you can protect your peace longer.

If you have experienced any of these feelings or stressors in traditional therapy, an Outdoor Therapy Intensive might be for you. Check out my services page to learn more, and have a great week!!

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And always remember: You’ve got this.

#PNWNatureTherapy #AdventureTherapy #MindfulnessInNature #TherapyOutside #NatureHeals #HikeYourOwnHike