Nature Therapy · Hampton & Newport News
I know a wholeness with no door,
of oak and shore, and forest floor.
Guided nature therapy walks and sessions for adults, on trails in Hampton and Newport News.
What it is
Slow down. Let the forest do its part.
Nature therapy is the practice of moving slowly through a natural place with your senses open. A Stanford study found that a 90-minute walk in nature reduced rumination, the looping self-critical thought that often comes before depression. An identical walk in the city did not (Bratman et al., 2015).
It is not an escape from your life. It is a way of giving your nervous system the conditions it needs to recover.
What a walk is like
- About 90 minutes
- About 1 mile, on slow and level ground
- A small group of adults
- You never have to share
YOUR GUIDE
Flint
- Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner
- MA, Human Services Counseling
- 11 years, U.S. Navy
- 4,000+ one-to-one coaching sessions
Sessions
Start free. Grow at your own pace.
Introduction to Nature Therapy
Free
- Approximately 90 minutes
- About 1 mile, slow and level ground
- Small group, not required to share with others
Guided Individual Session
$80
- Approximately 2 hours
- Up to 2 attendees per session
- Multiple location options
- A take-home practice that keeps working
Ongoing Guided Practice
$100/mo
- 1 guided individual session
- 1 guided small group session
- A curated practice that builds instead of resets
- Seasonal audio and field cards
Bringing a team? Staff sessions and retreats are on the Organizations page.
The science
Rooted in research
Consensus
A 2026 review of 116 systematic reviews covering more than ten million people found nature-based interventions significantly reduce anxiety and depression (Saeedy Robat et al., 2026).
Connection counts
Feeling connected to nature predicts well-being more strongly than simply spending time outdoors (Pritchard et al., 2020).
Measured relief
Across 20 studies, guided forest therapy improved depression, anxiety, and anger, with the strongest effects on anxiety (Kotera et al., 2022).
Place matters
Guided sessions in forest settings outperformed an equivalent guided session in an urban park for anxiety, anger, and confusion (Meneguzzo et al., 2021).
Findings describe groups of study participants, not guaranteed individual results. Nature therapy does not replace medical or mental health care.
References
Sources cited on this page
- Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567–8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112
- Kotera, Y., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2022). Effects of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) and nature therapy on mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20(1), 337–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00363-4
- Meneguzzo, F., Albanese, L., Antonelli, M., Baraldi, R., Becheri, F. R., Centritto, F., Donelli, D., Finelli, F., Firenzuoli, F., Margheritini, G., Maggini, V., Nardini, S., Regina, M., Zabini, F., & Neri, L. (2021). Short-term effects of forest therapy on mood states: A pilot study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), Article 9509. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189509
- Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., & McEwan, K. (2020). The relationship between nature connectedness and eudaimonic well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21(3), 1145–1167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00118-6
- Saeedy Robat, E., Bayazi, M. H., Nayyeri, M., Yasaghi, A. A., & Taimory, S. (2026). A systematic overview and second-order meta-analysis of nature-based interventions for stress, anxiety and depression. Nature Human Behaviour, 10(8), 1495–1509. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02433-4