Walk and talk therapy consent form

Create a walk and talk therapy consent form to document outdoor-session arrangements, confidentiality limitations, physical and environmental risks, emergency procedures, and client consent.

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What is Walk and talk therapy consent form?

A Walk and talk therapy consent form is a document clients review and sign before participating in counselling or psychotherapy sessions that take place while walking outdoors.

Walk and talk therapy moves the therapeutic session from a traditional office into an outdoor environment such as a park, trail, garden, or other agreed location. Because sessions take place outside a private consulting room, they introduce additional considerations around confidentiality, safety, weather, accessibility, professional boundaries, and unexpected encounters with other people.

The consent form helps the therapist and client agree on how outdoor sessions will work, including the meeting location, walking pace, what happens if someone they know approaches, how conversations are handled around other people, and what happens if weather or other conditions make walking unsuitable.

Privacy is particularly important. Conversations conducted in a public or semi-public setting may potentially be overheard, and the therapist cannot guarantee the same degree of environmental privacy available in a private therapy office. The American Psychological Association recommends addressing this explicitly during informed consent and agreeing in advance on what to do when other people are nearby.

Psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, and other appropriately qualified mental health professionals can customise the form for their practice, therapeutic approach, location, and professional requirements.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a Walk and talk therapy consent form?

A Walk and talk therapy consent form is a document used before counselling or psychotherapy sessions that take place while walking outdoors.

It explains the nature of outdoor therapy, confidentiality limitations, environmental and physical risks, session arrangements, and alternatives and documents the client's agreement to participate.

What should a Walk and talk therapy consent form include?

A Walk and talk therapy consent form may include the meeting location, session duration, confidentiality limitations, procedures for encountering other people, walking and environmental risks, weather arrangements, emergency procedures, alternatives to outdoor therapy, and client consent.

It is commonly used alongside the therapist's standard informed-consent documentation rather than as a replacement for it.

Is Walk and talk therapy confidential?

The therapist's professional confidentiality obligations still apply, but complete environmental privacy cannot be guaranteed when therapy takes place in a public or semi-public setting.

Other people may see the therapist and client together or potentially overhear parts of a conversation. Therapists and clients can agree beforehand on strategies for handling these situations.

What happens if the client sees someone they know during a session?

The therapist and client should discuss this possibility before beginning walk and talk therapy. They may agree to pause the conversation, change the subject, take another route, or follow another predetermined approach if someone either person knows is encountered.

What risks should a Walk and talk therapy consent form mention?

The form may address risks associated with walking and being outdoors, such as uneven terrain, slips or falls, weather conditions, traffic, cyclists, animals, insects, environmental allergens, and other hazards relevant to the chosen location.

It should also address the increased possibility of being seen or overheard compared with therapy in a private office.

What happens if the weather is unsuitable for Walk and talk therapy?

The therapist should establish a weather policy before the session. Depending on the practice, an outdoor appointment might be moved indoors, switched to a remote session, rescheduled, or changed to another agreed format when severe or unsuitable weather occurs.

Can a client choose to return to office or online therapy?

Yes. Agreeing to walk and talk therapy does not mean every future session needs to take place outdoors.

Clients and therapists can decide that a particular session would be better conducted indoors, online, or in another appropriate setting. Consent to outdoor sessions should be revisited as circumstances change.

Is an online Walk and talk therapy consent form legally binding?

An electronically signed Walk and talk therapy consent form may help document that the client received relevant information and agreed to the outdoor-session arrangements.

The legal and professional requirements for informed consent and electronic signatures vary by jurisdiction, licence, profession, and practice setting. Therapists should customise the document to their professional and local requirements.

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