Abstract
<jats:p>This monograph examines walk-and-talk as a specific modification of the psychotherapeutic and psychological counseling setting, in which the professional conversation takes place while the client and the professional walk together outdoors. The aim of the work is to examine, from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives, under what conditions this format can expand the possibilities of psychological practice, what processes it can support, and what professional, ethical, legal, and safety requirements it entails. The text integrates knowledge on movement, the natural environment, embodied experience, the working alliance, and the therapeutic or counseling framework with available international evidence and the author’s own empirical findings from the Slovak context. The research section includes three interrelated empirical lines of inquiry. A pilot study examined immediate psychological and physiological changes following group walks in natural and urban environments without psychological intervention. The results showed favorable changes in several indicators of current mental state and a slight decrease in blood pressure after walking in both environments, while no statistically significant difference was found between the natural and urban walks. A practice-based study subsequently compared indoor, urban walk-and-talk, and natural walk-and-talk settings under real-world conditions of psychotherapy and counseling practice. Walk-and-talk in a natural setting was associated primarily with the greatest increase in vitality and the greatest decrease in low mood, while a more favorable pattern of blood pressure changes emerged in both outdoor settings compared with the indoor session. No specific superiority of the natural setting was demonstrated for negative affect. A mixed-methods study of Slovak psychologists’ experiences showed that professionals rated the relational and process-oriented benefits of walk-and-talk most highly, particularly a greater sense of equality in the professional relationship, greater client openness, more holistic self-awareness, and professional enrichment. Qualitative findings included themes of environmental resources, behavioral activation, support for the therapeutic alliance, and holistic integration, as well as limitations related to confidentiality, environmental distractions, the client’s physical capabilities, organizational demands, safety, and increased attentional and professional demands on the practitioner. The practical section elaborates on the conditions for the safe implementation of walk-and-talk within the Slovak professional and legal context: indications, contraindications, a decision-making model, route selection, informed consent, confidentiality protection, documentation, limitations, adverse effects, supervision, self-care, and professional training. The monograph presents walk-and-talk as a promising, selectively appropriate, and professionally demanding format that cannot be understood as a universal substitute for indoor psychological work. Its contribution lies in expanding the possibilities for working with movement, the body, the environment, and the relational framework. Further research should systematically examine, in particular, the client perspective, mechanisms of change, moderators of suitability, fidelity, adverse effects, and implementation conditions.</jats:p>