If you’ve visited my website, you may have noticed the dandelion that features in my logo. I first chose it when I discovered just how symbolic it is.

The dandelion spends its life changing - it begins as a bright yellow flower resembling the sun, warm and full of life before it then transforms into a delicate white seed head, and eventually the seeds drift away on the wind like tiny stars. The dandelion reminds us that transformation is natural and we don’t stay the same forever. And we’re not supposed to.

Perhaps that’s why it feels such a fitting symbol for counselling. It’s about allowing ourselves the space to grow, adapt and change, often in ways we never expected. Nature has a remarkable way of reminding us that change is both natural and possible.

Why Nature Is Good for Your Mental Health

There is a reason so many of us may instinctively want to head for the coast after a difficult week, or choose a woodland walk when life feels overwhelming, or find ourselves taking a deep breath as soon as we step into a park. It isn’t just because nature is beautiful.

Research increasingly shows that spending time outdoors can have a measurable impact on both our mental and physical wellbeing.

Studies have found that being in green spaces can reduce stress, lower anxiety, improve mood and restore our ability to concentrate. Simply being surrounded by trees, water and natural landscapes encourages our nervous system to shift away from the constant state of alertness that so many of us live in.

The NHS has recognised these benefits through Green Social Prescribing, encouraging healthcare professionals to connect people with nature-based activities to support both mental and physical health. Following successful pilot schemes, Walk & Talk Therapy has also become part of several NHS Talking Therapies services, with encouraging recovery outcomes.

Nature doesn’t make our problems disappear but it often creates the conditions that allow us to approach them differently.

Many people also find that walking side by side feels less intense than sitting face to face. Without the pressure of constant eye contact, conversations often flow more naturally. Silences become comfortable rather than awkward giving thoughts the space they need to emerge.

There is also something deeply calming about paying attention to the world around us.

The sound of birdsong, sunlight filtering through leaves or the gentle movement of water.

Psychologists refer to this as Attention Restoration Theory. Our busy lives demand constant directed attention—emails, notifications, deadlines and decisions—which can leave us mentally exhausted. Natural environments gently capture our attention without overwhelming it, allowing our minds the opportunity to recover.

For people experiencing anxiety, grief, burnout or simply the pressures of modern life, that pause can be incredibly valuable.

I often think we’ve become disconnected from the environments our minds and bodies evolved in. We spend much of our lives indoors, looking at screens, rushing from one appointment to the next, rarely allowing ourselves permission to slow down but nature gently invites us to do exactly that, not to escape life but to reconnect with ourselves.

Perhaps that’s why Walk & Talk Therapy feels so different?

We’re not walking to find answers hidden somewhere amongst the trees we’re simply creating enough space for those answers to become easier to hear.

Sometimes healing doesn’t begin with a breakthrough, sometimes it begins with a breath of fresh air.