Counselors Takes Their Sessions Outdoors

Staff Writer

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On a bright, crisp summer day, Glenda Winters and Sharon Lauriello walk on a trail in Manheim Township, not far from Winters' home.

The two chat as Winters' dog, Chloe, trots alongside them through the dappled sunlight.

Lauriello is Winters' therapist and the two are meeting to walk and talk, in a new kind of therapy that Lauriello offers called "Moving You Through Change."

Called "walk and talk therapy," the technique is used by therapists across the country, ranging from New York, where a therapist walks with clients in Central Park, to Minnesota, where another counsels clients while walking near lakes in Minneapolis.

The therapy offers clients some interesting benefits, Lauriello said.

Research shows that exercise can lessen the symptoms of depression. Being outside relaxes many clients, and the rhythmic act of walking can help them process challenges, Lauriello said.

Therapists who use the technique reported in a 2011 study that they felt they could get to issues faster with their clients, saying the clients got "unstuck," and could come up with new ideas through the act of walking and talking. Walking alongside a client also helps to build rapport, therapists reported in the study.

A small study done in Canada of youth who did walk and talk therapy showed it increased their well-being and feelings of confidence.

In the therapy, Lauriello meets her clients on an area walking trail and the two stroll side by side as her clients talk about issues they need to work through, such as depression, anxiety or, in what has been Winters' situation, grief.

Winters, 58, lost a son to suicide in 2002 and then, two years ago, she lost her husband to Lou Gehrig's disease, after a lengthy illness. Her life felt like it was crumbling apart.

"It did me in," Winters said.

She sought out Lauriello for counseling because she liked the idea of walking while talking to a therapist.

"I thought, 'That sounds neat,' " Winters said. "I love nature."

For Winters, the process felt more natural than a traditional counseling office visit, which she has tried in the past.

"I think it's less invasive," she said. "You're not sitting here, and they're not sitting there, in an enclosed office."

Lauriello, 49, had heard about walk and talk therapy and decided to try it herself with her clients in 2012, based on some of her own experiences.

"I walk with my girlfriends - that's what we do for exercise - and I realized that when we were walking, we were talking through life and we were figuring things out," said Lauriello, who said she grew up riding horses, being active and enjoying the outdoors.

Lauriello offers the counseling on a fee basis. She doesn't take insurance, though clients may seek reimbursement on their own, and charges $125 for a session that lasts an hour and 15 minutes.

She will pick a path for clients, or allow them to choose one. Lauriello does have an office in Columbia, where she can meet clients if the weather is bad or they don't want to walk and talk.

For Winters, she has found walking and talking has helped her in her quest to be more mindful, and to stay in the present moment.

"I was numb," she said of her grief after her husband's death. "I didn't care about anything.

"Today, I am so much better."