ABSTRACT
Objective
Walk-and-Talk Therapy (WTT) has gained visibility, yet little is known about how therapists integrate it into their practice or how it shapes their therapeutic presence and identity. This study examines therapists’ motivations for adopting WTT and how they enact their ‘way of being’ outdoors.
Method
Thirteen francophone psychologists practising WTT participated in semi-structured interviews.
Findings
Using reflexive thematic analysis, we explored (a) personal and professional motivations for engaging and sustaining WTT and (b) therapists’ way of being and management of the therapeutic frame in outdoor settings. Therapists adopted WTT for intertwined personal reasons (e.g., connection with nature, need for movement, desire for authenticity) and professional motivations (e.g., dissatisfaction with indoor work, benefits of embodied practice). Early positive experiences strengthened their commitment, and therapists tended to experience WTT as enhancing well-being and coherence, although these accounts were shaped by personal affinity with outdoor practice and rarely included negative experiences. Therapists explained how they adapted the therapeutic frame outdoors through preparatory agreements, ethical reflexivity and symbolic structuring, allowing them to maintain psychological contact, boundaries and safety. Walking side by side reduced perceived hierarchy, supported disclosure and fostered a more relaxed, humanised therapeutic relationship. WTT appeared to align therapists’ personal values with their professional identity, illustrating a self-integrated perspective on clinical work and highlighting implications for therapist growth and context-sensitive practice.
Conclusion
Findings suggest WTT may function as both a therapeutic modality and a professional self-regulation strategy. Although participants described WTT positively, challenges related to client suitability, confidentiality and boundary management were also identified.