AN INNOVATIVE PEER SUPPORT GROUP: WALK AND TALK GROUPS

The use of ‘Walk and Talk’ groups in clinical settings evolved out of the work of Dr. Ed Federman from Boston University School of Medicine (Federman, Kane, Kulju, Mertz, 2022). He noticed that some people tend to be more talkative when they are walking or driving with someone.  As a psychotherapist, he was looking for ways to encourage people to get over feeling uncomfortable talking about themselves.  He and a group of colleagues started holding counseling sessions outside, walking with their clients during the hour of therapy.  They tracked how much people talked and what they talked about when they were sitting in an office verses walking outside, finding that people were more talkative and talked more about important topics while they were walking outside.

This work then was picked up by Peer Support Specialists who developed ‘Walk and Talk’ peer support groups where people with a common interest meet once a week for a 1-hour walk in which they agree to get to know each other and provide peer support.  The groups were led by a Peer Support Specialist, but evolved to the point that they were facilitated by group members. 

Groups are organized by a facilitator who invites people with a common interest to walk with each other.  Meetings can be on a monthly, weekly or daily basis.  The understanding is that the walking will be in a specific area and is not so challenging physically that participants will not be able to talk.  The focus is on getting to know other people and talking about shared interests.  The common interest may be a shared problem (a health concern, a life concern, etc.) or a shared experience (e.g. veterans, recently retired people, people in recovery) or a shared profession.  The facilitator gets the group together to plan their walks.  They pick a setting, a day and time, and distance that meets their goals. Walking can be a form of distraction that allows people to talk more openly.  The fact that people are not facing each other when walking also can help them feel less social anxious and more able to talk openly. 

Social anxiety and limited social skills are common barriers to social connection.  Social interaction while walking can help people reduce the impact of both social anxiety and limited skills.

 Target Populations

Many people would benefit from a Walk and Talk Group.  Subgroups that you might want to target include:

·        People who want to walk, or could benefit from walking for their physical and/or mental health.

·        People who want to lose weight.

·        People who want to reduce their blood

pressure and/or cholesterol.

·        People with depression or anxiety.

·        People with a Serious Mental Illness.

·        People who want to better manage stress.

·        People who want to increase their social

network and/or social support.

·        People who want to reduce their social

isolation or loneliness.

·        People who have trouble talking in formal

counseling sessions.

·        People with social anxiety.

·        People with physical restrictions that make

more strenuous activities dangerous.

Research Evidence

There is no research specifically on ‘Walk and Talk’ groups.  There is research suggesting that walking individually or in groups has a range of health benefits.  These include significant improvements in physical health including improved blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat, and total cholesterol (Hanson, & Jones, 2015).  They also include significant improvements to mental health including reduced depression, anxiety and stress, improved psychological well-being, reduced social isolation and reduced loneliness (Kelly et al., 2019). The benefits are even more remarkable when the walking is done in a beautiful natural setting (Roe, & Aspinall, 2011).

Practicalities For The Leader:  Safety & Recruitment

While walking is not a rigorous exercise, you may still want to ask members to obtain medical clearance for the group, depending on their age and medical vulnerabilities.  You should also have training and even some first aid materials in case someone trips during the walk.

You and the group will want to decide where you’ll walk.  Some areas have few sidewalks and there can be safety issues in walking on busy roads.  You may also want to remind the group about the added benefits of walking in attractive natural settings.

This type of group presents few limitations on membership, and so recruitment can be relatively easy. You’ll want to make sure that participants understand that the conversations don’t represent “therapy” but are primarily a way to get to know other people and to provide mutual social support.

Potential Resources, Partners

You may want to partner with clinicians and/or clinical programs that could benefit from the addition of a Walk and Talk group.  Too many clinical programs focus primarily on talking therapies that create a demand for people to spend hours each day in “talking therapies”.  Walk and talk groups can provide a great change from those settings, and may encourage a different type of talking by the clients.

Examples:

 Veterans Recovery Walk and Talk Groups.  The Cheyenne VA Healthcare Center has a weekly Walk and Talk Group for Veterans.  It is led by a Peer Support Specialist and receives referrals from clinical programs.

The Brooklyn Bridge Walk and Talk Event is an example of a single episode walk and talk activity.  This is open to anyone who wants to participate by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with other people.

The Daddy Victory Club is a Chicago-based non-profit that have five groups in the US, focused on developing mutual support among African-American fathers.  Groups meet on a monthly basis for walk and talk meetings designed to build peer support among young fathers.

REFERENCES

Federman, E.J., Kane, M., Kulju, B., & Mertz, D. (2022) Walk and Talk Groups.  Grand Rounds Presentation at the Cheyenne VA Healthcare System, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Hanson, S., & Jones, A. (2015). Is there evidence that walking groups have health benefits? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 49(11), 710-715.

Kelly, P., Williamson, C., Hunter, R., Niven, A. G., Mutrie, N., & Richards, J. (2019). Infographic. Walking on sunshine: scoping review of the evidence for walking and mental health. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Roe, J., & Aspinall, P. (2011). The restorative benefits of walking in urban and rural settings in adults with good and poor mental health. Health & place, 17(1), 103-113.