Therapist Jennifer Udler was in the middle of a 50-minute session with a patient when it started to rain. Instead of being in her office, however, she and her teenage patient were outside, walking and talking about anxiety and stress — so they got soaked. But the torrent had an upside. When they made it back indoors, Udler said, “Hey, look at us! We’re fine! We’re a little wet, but, oh well! We got through it! Now you can use that next time you have anxiety before and during an event.” This kind of insight is key to her practice.
Udler, a clinical social worker whose practice focuses on adolescents, has been a therapist for 20 years. For most of that time, she practiced in a traditional office. She was running and training with the Montgomery County Road Runners Club when she noticed how easy it was for her running partners to open up about their problems, and one of the women she was running with suggested she combine therapy with walking. After doing some research, in 2013, Udler founded Positive Strides Therapy, where she conducts sessions while walking outdoors, in nature.
“When somebody asks me if I specialize in walking therapy, I say, ‘No, that’s how I practice,’ ” Udler said. “I specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy, in mindfulness, in family systems theory. Walking in the park is just where I practice.”
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