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At first, the pandemic forced therapy online. Now, it is encouraging us to step outdoors. Ecopsychotherapist Lara Just has been meeting clients on Hampstead Heath and in rural locations for years. As we continue to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, with its 2021 theme of ‘nature’, the founder of The Walking Therapist recalls how a forest path provided just the challenge one client needed.

Many have rediscovered a deep connection with nature during the pandemic, as the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week attests. But what is it like to start offering therapy outdoors? From tripping over tree roots to stumbling across transformative metaphors, counsellor Sheila Pope shares her – and her clients’ – journey into ecotherapy.