What Is Walk and Make Therapy?
29 May 2025
Not everyone fits the same therapeutic approach. Some people find it easy to open up in a quiet room. Others need movement, space, or something to do with their hands before the words come.
Walk and Make Therapy is my new approach that builds on my therapeutic ideas about integrating nature and creativity while maintaining an evidence informed approach. Sessions are held outdoors and include basic creative activities alongside conversation. That might mean using natural materials to create something, drawing or writing in response to a prompt, or simply noticing and responding to the environment in a hands-on way. You don’t need to be “creative” or “good at art.” The work isn’t about art skills — it’s about process.
This way of working can feel more natural for people who don’t connect easily in a traditional therapy room. It can also support a different kind of reflection, one that’s slower, perhaps less pressured.
We know that making things with our hands can regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and support emotional expression. Engaging in simple creative tasks has been linked to lower levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone (Kaimal et al., 2016). It also activates reward pathways in the brain, supporting a sense of ease and flow (Bolwerk et al., 2014).
In therapy, both creative expression and movement can help bypass the usual filters that can get in the way. It allows what’s underneath to show up more clearly, whether it’s through shapes, textures, colours, or just the quiet of doing something with your hands.
There’s growing research showing that spending time in natural environments has real benefits for mental health. It can lower blood pressure, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and help people feel more connected and grounded (Bratman et al., 2019).
Being outside also changes the dynamics of a session. It makes therapy feel less formal, less clinical with literal expansiveness, side-by-side movement, and the possibility of something unexpected emerging.
Walk and Make might suit you if:
You feel more open when you’re moving or outside
You’ve found traditional talk therapy difficult or frustrating
You’re curious about using creativity as part of healing
You don’t want to sit in a room week after week
It can be especially supportive for people managing stress, burnout, grief, life transitions, or long-standing patterns they’re ready to work through differently. It’s also a way to practice mindfulness differently (or at all!)
What to Expect
Sessions usually last around 60-90 minutes and take place in an accessible outdoor setting. We begin with a short check-in, then walk, pause, and use simple materials to engage in creative reflection. The rhythm of each session is different, depending on what you’re bringing and need that day.
All materials are provided, and we’ll work together to find a pace and approach that feels right for you. Some people talk a lot, some prefer more quiet. There’s no right way to do it.
Walk and Make isn’t a magic fix, and it might not be for everyone. But for many people, it offers a way into therapy that feels more spacious, and alive.
If this sounds like something that might support where you’re at, feel free to get in touch.
References and further reading
Kaimal, G., Ray, K., & Muniz, J. (2016). Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making. Art Therapy, 33(2), 74–80.
Bolwerk, A., Mack-Andrick, J., Lang, F. R., Dörfler, A., & Maihöfner, C. (2014). How art changes your brain: differential effects of visual art production and cognitive art evaluation on functional brain connectivity. PLoS ONE, 9(7).
Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., ... & Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7).
McNiff, S. (1998). Trust the process: An artist's guide to letting go. Shambhala Publications.