The International Coaching Federation (ICF), write; “Coaching is a thought-provoking and creative partnership that inspires clients to maximize their personal and professional potential, often unlocking previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.” Coaching draws significantly from humanistic and positive psychology and from some of the more shorter-term therapy models, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy. Just as with humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapists, the underlying belief held by coaches, is that you are already whole and you already have everything you need to succeed. It’s the coach’s job to ask you the right questions and guide you towards your own inner resources.

Coaching Outdoors is all of the above taken outside. Ideally on a walk together but also possible on the phone. Or, if working virtually, bringing nature into the conversation and taking time between sessions to spend outdoors in service of the coaching journey.

In a world of ever-increasing noise, haste, technology and virtual worlds, there is a counter-movement; “one that recognises our essential quality as a part of nature. This movement invites us to reclaim our place in the universe, to remind us that we are organic relational beings.” (McGeeney, 2016)

The power of wilderness/outdoor adventure therapy programmes may lie neither, or not solely, with the therapist and her/his therapeutic skills…. Rather, what may be equally critical if not more so, in bringing about change for the better may be due to ‘nature’ – being in interaction with the natural worlds. (Beringer & Martin, 2003, p.33)

Walking Therapy, Eco-Therapy, Wilderness Therapy, Outdoor Psychotherapy, Adventure Therapy, Green/Blue Coaching, Outdoor Coaching, Shinrin-Yoku/Forest Bathing and Questing are all growing fields. This article looks at coaching outdoors in the context of all these offerings.

Wilderness Therapy is the use of wild remote areas such as the Scottish Highlands. The benefits of being so remote are that clients are removed from their familiar environment for a longer period of time than the usual 90 minutes. There is the chance to have greater connection with nature. The wilderness is very much an active player in the therapy.

Adventure Therapy is experiential using activities involving risk and physical and emotional challenges. The work is often done in groups and can be typified by the work of Khurt Hans ‘Outward Bound’ organization. Adventure therapy theory draws from a mixture of learning and psychological theories. The ideas and thinking of Alfred Adler, Albert Ellis, Milton Erickson, William Glasser, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Fritz Perls, and Viktor Frankl all appear to have contributed to the thinking in adventure therapy.

Ecotherapy is a form of psychotherapy rooted in the idea of Wilsons Biophilia hypothesis: people's bond between themselves and other ecosystems. The specific features of ecotherapy include interaction with wild or semi-natural areas of nature and that nature is the primary therapeutic source.

Walking Therapy. A lighter touch than Ecotherapy. Still outdoors but nature not always a conscious active participant for either therapist or coach. Possible in urban areas.

Nature Therapy is an “experiential approach based on the integration of elements from art and drama therapy, Gestalt, narrative, eco-psychology, transpersonal psychology, adventure therapy, shamanism and body-mind practices.” (Berger & McLeod, 2009, p.7). The approach was developed by Ronen Berger. Berger encourages the client to choose the therapy space in nature, encouraging them to ‘build a home’ for their sessions, a safe sacred space. Thus giving them choice and control. This outdoor therapy room changes with the seasons and is alive v the sterile therapy room indoors. Working with nature empowers the client to take shared responsibility for the therapeutic process. Berger also works with rituals stating that this is one of the central principles of nature therapy.

Coaching Outdoors is exactly as it sounds (and described at the beginning of the article), a coaching conversation outdoors. Dependent on the skill and experience of the coach, nature is either a passive or an active participant.

Blue/Green Coaching is another title for coaching outdoors highlighting that the session will be carried out in an environment where water is present (blue) or trees, fields, grass, plants etc. (green).

Lastly, we have Questing and Shinrin-Yoku/Forest Bathing. These mention neither coaching nor therapy and may not involve conversations in the traditional sense!

Shinrin-Yoku is the Japanese form of forest bathing which began in the 1980’s. Literally the practice of taking a bath in the forest. Engaging all five senses to connect with the environment and clear the mind through being mindful. Dr Qing Li, the author of Shinrin-Yoku: The Art and Science of Forest Bathing believes that Shinrin-Yoku “is a preventative medicine, not a treatment,”. A typical session would see you walking slowly through a wood savouring the sounds, smells and sights of nature and letting the forest in. Letting your body be your guide, being led by smell, colours and patterns, the feeling of leaves, ferns and bark, and somatic resonance. A typical session might end with breathing deeply while lying down under trees and looking up through the branches. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t get anywhere. You are not going anywhere.” Says Li. In a nutshell it’s about engaging mindfully with the forest; slowing down mentally and physically, not strolling through on a dog walk or on the phone.

Questing; These interventions are more spiritual and less ‘mainstream’ than anything already covered. They have their roots in tribal rites of passage. A Medicine Walk is a ritual of solo wandering in nature. A fasting day out in nature from sunrise to sunset. It often takes place as preparation for a Vision Quest. It begins the journey of being open to the ‘other-than-human’ realm. The premise is to go out into nature and see ‘what comes’. “Being open to an innate systemic intelligence outdoors, so whatever we end up ‘thinking’ is where we need to be.” (Macmillan, 2020). Whilst the process has ‘walk’ in the title, a typical medicine walk would be a mix of walking, sitting, meditating, even sleeping.

A Vision Quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is mainly undertaken by young males entering adulthood. The process includes a complete fast for four days and nights, alone at a sacred site in nature. The objective of this is to help them find their purpose in life, their role in the community, and how they may best serve their people. The western objective is usually for personal growth, becoming more aware and having a deeper connection. Participants are often, but not always, drawn to questing during times of change or desiring change. It creates time for contemplation and for reconnecting with one’s self and the natural world, bringing clarity through communing with nature. The format is usually a solo period of 3 or 4 days and nights in nature, bracketed by time with experts who guide the process; taking care of you, managing safety, your health, teaching and leading ceremonies and the integration of your experience into your ‘normal’ life. An intriguing summary would be; ‘a sacred adventure of discovery with visible and invisible worlds’.

Key to all these practices is the concept of nature as a partner in the relationship. Most often as an active partner, a kind of co-facilitator. Then there is the sliding scale of where the therapist or coach places themselves in relation to nature.

“The therapist may take a central position, working directly with the client and relating to nature as a backdrop or tool provider. The therapist may also take a quieter role, remaining in the background, allowing the client to work directly with nature while the therapist acts as a witness, container, and mediator.” (Berger & McLeod, 2009, p.13)

So, where does that leave us? There are a variety of ‘ways of working’ with the natural world. Having clarity on where our practice sits, what we do and why, enables us to manage our clients expectations and ensure their psychological safety.

A final thought;

“People spend their lives increasingly indoors. About 80% of Japan’s population live in urban areas, and the average American now spends more than 90% of their time indoors. But we are designed to be connected to the natural world, to listen to the wind and taste the air”. Dr Qing Li (2019)

The key message is that working with nature, connect us and our clients with the natural world that we have evolved from, is a rich resource. Both in terms of what it can offer us, but, also in terms of how, as we re-ignite that ancient integral connection, we get closer to the possibility of bringing about a change in how we look after our planet.

If you’d like to experience more insights to support you in your coaching outdoors work take a look at Getting Started Coaching Outdoors and Nature as Co-facilitator. We’d love to see you on our programmes.

Coaching Outdoors in Context

Lesley

Coaching Outdoors in Context

Lesley

Our Systemic Connection to Nature

Coaching with the Seasons