Walk and talk therapy in Denver
Therapy at three miles an hour. Some conversations come easier side by side than face to face.
Movement can help a keyed-up nervous system settle, and sometimes having somewhere to look besides directly at your therapist makes the hard stuff easier to say.
I'm Mariana Vivas, LCSW. I offer walk-and-talk sessions in Denver parks alongside my telehealth practice. It's still therapy, same clinical work, same boundaries and confidentiality considerations. We're just doing it outside. Yes, we can slow down. This is therapy, not cardio.
Walking sessions at a glance
- Where
- A Denver park we choose together (Sloans Lake, Cheesman, Wash Park, City Park, or Berkeley Lake Park), with quieter routes and times in mind
- Pace
- A stroll, not a workout. You set it; pausing on a bench counts
- Session length
- A standard therapy session, on foot; strollers and babies welcome
- Weather backup
- When Denver won't cooperate, we switch that session to telehealth
- Cost & insurance
- A walking session is a regular session, billed through Headway like any other
- How to start
- A free consultation call; schedule through Headway
Why walking helps
Sitting across from someone and being observed is hard for a lot of people, and hardest for the ones therapy is built for. Walking removes the staring contest. Your body moves, your eyes have a horizon, and the rhythm of footsteps does some of the regulating that a keyed-up nervous system can't do on its own.
Clients with anxiety often find the words come looser out here. ADHD brains tend to think better in motion. And for new mothers, a session that includes sunlight, adult conversation, and leaving the house is doing several jobs at once.
How a walking session works
We meet at a Denver park we've agreed on in advance, usually Sloans Lake, Cheesman Park, Wash Park, City Park, or Berkeley Lake Park, and walk a route at whatever pace suits you that day. Some sessions are brisk. Some are two laps and a long sit on a bench. It's a full-length session and the same work we'd do on video (goals, hard conversations, skills practice), just held outside.
Bring water, wear whatever's comfortable, and bring the stroller if you've got a baby. Interruptions are part of the deal and part of the work.
Confidentiality, honestly
Parks are public. We will pass dog walkers, joggers, and the occasional acquaintance, and you deserve a straight answer about that rather than a brochure. Here's how we handle it: we pick quieter routes and times, we pause or shift topics when someone's in earshot, and we agree in advance on what you'd like me to be if you run into someone you know. "A friend" works fine.
Everything else about confidentiality is identical to any session with me. Some clients find the open air makes hard things easier to say; if the privacy tradeoff worries you more than it frees you, telehealth is always there.
Weather and seasons
Denver gives us more walking days than people expect: the "300 days of sunshine" line is marketing, but sunny winter mornings in the 40s are real. When the weather turns, that session moves to telehealth and nothing else changes. Many clients walk outside in the warmer months and switch to video for the winter.
What walking is good for, and what it isn't
Walking suits talking things through: anxiety, burnout, decisions, grief, the postpartum blur. It's the wrong container for EMDR, which needs a controlled setting and your full attention on the protocol; that work we do seated, by telehealth.
Plenty of clients mix formats: processing work on video, integration on foot. We'll figure out the right blend for you.
Common questions
Do I need to be in shape for this? expand_more
No. This is a stroll with conversation, not exercise. You set the pace, and benches are part of the route.
What if we run into someone I know? expand_more
We plan for it before it happens. You decide in advance how you'd introduce me, and I follow your lead. I'll never identify myself as your therapist to anyone.
Can I bring my baby or my dog? expand_more
Babies and strollers, yes, always. Dogs, let's talk at the consultation; it depends on the dog and on what we're working on.
Does insurance cover walking sessions? expand_more
A walk-and-talk session is a standard therapy session and is billed through Headway like any other. You see your estimated cost before booking; out-of-network details are on the insurance FAQ.
Other areas of focus
Try a session with sky over it.
Start with a free consultation call and we'll decide together whether your first session is on a screen or on a path.
Mariana Vivas, LCSW · Licensed in Colorado · Page reviewed August 2026