A new year is often a time for self-reflection, for setting new goals, shedding old habits and fostering more positive ones.
As we begin to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, 2023 seems like an ideal time to take a different approach to wellness: one that offers a fresh perspective and tackles mental health and physical health… side by side.
Psychotherapist Glenn Sevier, LCSW, founded Walk-N-Talk™️ therapy in 2003 while counseling students at a high school in suburban Chicago. Glenn’s innovative approach began as a humble way to better connect with and treat his own clients. Walk-N-Talk therapy has since inspired mental health professionals around the world.
"I was excited when the Chicago Tribune wrote a front-page article highlighting my Walk-N-Talk therapy," Glenn said. "This article got shared around the world, including in the United Kingdom and Australia."
"While this article was posted in 2020, my trailblazing efforts began in 2003. Now, so many therapists have begun to embrace this alternative modality, which has proven to be effective for both me and my clients."
"Over the years I have taken part in many other interviews, along with observations from Ph.D. candidates who have studied the impact of walk-and-talk therapy. Their positive findings have helped this innovative approach spread to the field of outdoor counseling."
Instead of staying limited to the traditional, clinical setting of a therapist's office, Glenn invited his clients to venture out into nature with him for their sessions, something therapists were reluctant to do at that time. Glenn and his clients walked side by side in settings that were less intimidating than an office and naturally nurtured mindfulness while fostering physical fitness.
In the two decades since then, Glenn and countless clients have strolled Chicago’s lakefront, chatted along the Riverwalk and confronted personal challenges in forest preserves and other green spaces in and around the city.
The scenery mirrors the varied landscape of life and creates a sense of calm. Having a destination makes each session of Walk-N-Talk therapy a goal that is invigorating and challenging, yet easy to achieve.
No matter the season, Glenn and his clients take their therapeutic walks…even when temperatures are in the single digits!
This helps to combat the insidious effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder in winter and bolsters the goal of helping clients adjust to the ever-shifting emotional climate of their daily lives.
When Chicago Tribune highlighted the benefits of Walk-N-Talk therapy in 2020, they wrote, “Sevier said Chicago’s wayward climate mimics the human condition, showing highs and lows of different seasons. Walking in the cold and even snow and rain can help navigate a variety of emotions, he said.”
A Walk-N-Talk therapy client told Chicago Tribune, “I think guys, sometimes we struggle with mental health and being vulnerable,” he said. “I like that you’re doing this physical activity.”
Step Into Walk-N-Talk Therapy
At Advance Potential Psychological Services, Glenn offers Walk-N-Talk therapy as an approachable and effective alternative to traditional psychotherapy.,
“Walking can be therapeutic, however, walking with a trained Therapist can be life changing!” Glenn said.
It’s this open-minded point of view that has made Walk-N-Talk therapy so inviting in the past two decades and especially in this new year as we move further from the start of the pandemic.
Get fresh air and a fresh perspective by trying out Walk-N-Talk therapy today. Call Glenn Sevier at (773) 512-8813.