Highland Outdoor Therapy

15/09/2026

09/09/2026

We'll be at the Highland Spotlight Exhibition, Drumossie Hotel, Inverness on the 22nd September.

We'd love to connect with local businesses and talk about what your organisation actually needs when it comes to wellbeing.

Come find us - whether you're exhibiting too or just visiting.
See you there!

26/08/2026

You don’t leave stress at the door.

You bring it home. To your family. To the people you want to be present for.

Distress isn’t in the forest. It’s in us. We carry it around with us.

But let nature in, properly, and it dilutes. It puts things back in perspective.

That’s what we help with at HOT 🌱

21/08/2026

19/08/2026

Been quiet on here lately - a month off with family in the van, recharging. Then straight back into building and delivering. Exciting developments brewing for HOT. Watch this space 🌱

14/05/2026

Real nature improves wellbeing. Virtual nature doesn’t.

We knew this, but here is more evidence - the research is from a meta-analysis published this year across 140 studies, which found real nature exposure had a significant beneficial effect on wellbeing, whilst virtual or artificial nature exposure did not reach statistical significance.

That includes all the nature apps, wellness platforms, AI health tools, sleep tech devices, health monitoring devices etc etc.

It’s all screen-based, individual and passive. None of it involves human connection, being outside, or addressing the conditions that create stress in the first place.

There is no shortcut to wellbeing and the positive effects from nature - spending time outside, interacting and connecting in some way with our natural world, is where we will feel the benefits.

(All hyphens used intentionally)

Link to journal article:
https://lnkd.in/eAmYjnrD

11/05/2026

Me: “I’ll go for a walk in the woods for some grounding and perspective”
The woodland: grows a jellyfish out of a tree

Nature always finds a way to give us a dose of its wonderful medicine.

18/04/2026

With the seasons shifting, there’s more opportunity to take work outside again.

What could you do outside next week that you’d normally do in a building?

When you step out of the usual indoor environment — the dry, controlled, predictable space — something shifts in how people are with each other. There’s less formality. Less performance. More honesty. Even in the rain.

Conversations deepen. People think a bit differently. And what often comes through is less about the agenda, and more about how things are actually going for them.

There’s also good evidence behind this. Research in workplace settings suggests that time spent in natural environments is linked to reduced stress and improved wellbeing, as well as improved mood and mental health outcomes.

But in practice, it often feels even simpler than that.

People just feel a bit more human.
And from there, connection grows.

Even if it does mean the occasional soggy notebook

07/03/2026

Perspective matters.

After our cold water dip, the group crafted picture frames and picked out their favourite view to capture.

The frame we choose influences what comes into focus. We used this for reflection and integration of the experience - framing a view gives participants a moment to pause after the dip, reflect on the experience, and hold onto a positive memory.

What stays in focus slowly becomes the story we tell ourselves.

A gentle reminder to step back every now and then and notice what you’re framing.

03/03/2026

The Internal Leap: Am I Doing Enough?

There’s a specific kind of silence in the woods. It’s one where I’m wondering: Is my process actually working?

In those moments, my internal dialogue can be a whirlwind:

“Should I have used a different prompt?”

“Am I being too passive?”

“What if they don’t find a metaphor in this?”

Trusting the process is often hard. It’s the discipline of holding back the ‘fixer’ in me.

When an individual finally leaves the log and lands on the ground, it’s a reminder to me, too. My process isn’t about ‘moving’ the client; it’s about trusting that if I provide the right container, they will find their own way down.

The leap will happen when the internal landscape is ready. My job is to help prepare that landscape. Growth may often happen underground long before we see the sprout…

Trust The Process.