A few years ago I decided to start an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School, as I wanted to further my coaching qualifications and wanted the opportunity to do some research. The last element of the MSc was a dissertation and from the very start of the course I knew I wanted to do my research into the benefits of coaching outdoors.
I didn’t realise at the time how little research there was in this area!
My love for the outdoors started when I was a small child and found myself spending all my spare time outside. Climbing trees, making mud pies and potions, watching nature, from the tiniest bugs amongst the leaves and flowers, to the large birds that often landed in our garden from the woodland opposite our house. On holidays I would always be found with my little fishing net rock pooling, searching for an ever illusive shrimp or crab skuttling amongst the little pools of water left by the tide. Nature has always been my solace and place to go when I’m feeling happy, sad, annoyed or in need of some time to reflect.
It became clear to me that I needed to find a way to meld my love for nature with my business, and I found outdoor coaching. Most people who have experienced outdoor coaching would probably tell you they didn’t know it was “a thing” until they tried it for the first time. I accidentally discovered it myself when I realised I often “walked and talked” with colleagues when they needed some coaching, mentoring or just someone to talk to.
So, doing research on the benefits of outdoor coaching was a no brainer for me.
I was fortunate enough to have Professor Jonathan Passmore as my dissertation supervisor at Henley Business School and he encouraged me to submit, with Jonathan as co-author, a somewhat shorter version of my dissertation research for submission to the BPS International Coaching Psychology Review. I was very excited when they accepted our submission and it has been published in the Autumn Edition 2022.
“Outdoor coaching: The role of Attention Restoration Theory as a framework for explaining the experience and benefits of eco-psychology coaching” (see link below).
Recently, David Clutterbuck shared a LinkedIn post about his shared belief that Attention Restoration Theory can help to explain the benefits of outdoor coaching, you can read it here
What is Attention Restoration Theory?
Attention Restoration Theory (ART) (Kaplan & Talbot, 1983; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kaplan, 1995; Kaplan & Berman, 2010) proposes that natural environments provide the brain with the opportunity to restore Directed Attention and increase cognitive capacity and capability.
It does so in 4 ways – through fascination, compatibility, extent and being away.
Directed Attention is very important when needing to think strategically, creatively and effectively. It is a very important brain function for coachees to be able to use to work through their challenges and develop solutions. It is, however, easily depleted. Introducing aspects of coaching that can help to restore this functionality during the coaching session itself can be highly beneficial – giving the coachee the opportunity to restore their cognitive capacity, and then use this boosted resource during the conversation.
Coaching outdoors, surrounded by nature and natural environments, is a great way to achieve this.
The research and what it found
I interviewed a number of coachees who had experienced outdoor coaching, asking them questions about what they experienced during their sessions, how it made them feel and what impact being outdoors had on their coaching outcomes.
Using thematic analysis (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) I discovered 6 key themes that describe the benefits of taking coaching conversations outdoors. They are summarised below, with more detail in the full journal article.
1) Side-by-side – walking or sitting alongside the coach is a unique aspect of outdoor coaching that differs to indoor coaching, where most conversations happen sat opposite each other. Being alongside one another gives the coachee the sense of being less scrutinised, less judged, more relaxed and builds a connection with the coach. Literally and metaphorically going on the journey together.
2) Movement and pace – being outdoors allows the coachee to play with movement and pace, to let it reflect their mood and express their emotions. Meandering, stomping, walking quickly, standing or sitting still, walking back over the same spot – all these ways of moving or being still give the coachee a mechanism to give their brain time to think.
3) Outdoor vs indoor – coachees drawn to outdoor coaching appear to feel constrained, trapped and confined when indoors. Being outdoors helps them to feel free, open, calm, relaxed or energised. They also experience awe, metaphor and analogy when outdoors in a way they are not able to indoors.
4) Different experiences and ways of thinking – being outdoors brings different experiences, different perspective and different ways of thinking. It is always changing, and with that change brings new analogies and new metaphors to experience and explore.
5) Openness, space and expanse – walking alongside a coach enables the coachee to experience the openness and expanse of the natural space in front of them. This leads to freedom of thought, a limitlessness, timelessness and removal of mental and physical boundaries.
6) Senses, feelings and emotions – outdoor coaching engages all the senses (even taste), which are uniquely experienced due to the outdoor setting. Using all the senses in often new and different ways helps coachees with sense-making and can lead to them feeling more grounded and anchored.
Other areas that came out of the research include: Nature connectedness, the role of the coach; logistics and location; the weather and the aspect of confidentiality. These are also briefly discussed in the summary I created of the findings (available here).
The full journal article also links each of the 6 key themes to facets of Attention Restoration Theory, helping to explain why these themes may benefit outdoor coachees so much.
What does this mean for coaching?
It is somewhat surprising that the experiences of outdoor coaching have not been more widely researched and empirically analysed before now. The anecdotal evidence from both coach practitioners and coachees strongly suggests that people experience huge benefits from taking coaching conversations outside.
The research will hopefully enable outdoor coach practitioners to a) better understand why coachees enjoy outdoor coaching and b) better understand the benefits and outcomes of great outdoor coaching sessions.Trying outdoor coaching
I cannot encourage you enough to try outdoor coaching. Whether it is a walk around a park near your office, alongside a canal, around a loch, or a hike up a hill or mountain. Or simply sitting on a bench in a park, or near a lake, or on a blanket on a woodland or forest floor. There are many ways to experience outdoor coaching.
I also recommend reading the chapter on Eco-Coaching (Burn and Watson) in “The Coaches’ Handbook” (2020).
In addition, Anna-Marie Watson and I co-host The Coaching Outdoors Podcast, with guests who discuss all aspects of outdoor coaching and share their experiences. These interviews provide a great insight into the many and varied types of outdoor coaching and the benefits that can be experienced.
If you are looking for an outdoor coach please do get in touch.
I’d like to thank Jonathan Passmore for encouraging me to submit my research for publication and being willing to put his name to it as well!
The Journal Article
You can purchase and download the journal article from the BPS website here, unless you are a BPS member in which case it is free to access:
Outdoor coaching: The role of Attention Restoration Theory as a framework for explaining the experience and benefits of eco-psychology coaching
Jonathan and I believe in openly sharing science so we have provided a full version of the research for you to download here
A few resources
1) Burn, A. & Watson, A. M. (2021). Eco-Coaching. In J. Passmore (eds), The Coaches’ Handbook: The Complete practitioners guide for professional coaches (pp.291-300). Abingdon: Routledge.
2) Kaplan, R & Kaplan, S (1989) “The experience of nature: a psychological perspective”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3) Kaplan, S & Berman, M.g (2010). Directed Attention as a Common Resource for Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(1), 43-57
4) Kaplan, S & Talbot, J.F (1983) Psychological benefits of a wilderness experience. In Altman, I & Wohlwill, J.F Eds Human Behaviour and Environment. New York:Plenum Press, Vol 6, Behaviour and the Natrual Environment, 163-203
5) Kaplan, S (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: towards an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169-182