RCTHumann = 372025
Walk-and-Talk Therapy Versus Conventional Indoor Therapy for Men With Low Mood: A Randomised Pilot Study.
Plain-language summary
This study set out to compare outdoor 'walk-and-talk' therapy with conventional indoor therapy for men with low mood. Thirty-seven men with mild to moderate depression (mean PHQ-9 score of 11.4) were randomly assigned to receive weekly 60-minute sessions either while walking outdoors or indoors in a clinic, over six weeks. Both groups showed similar improvements in depressive symptoms, but the walk-and-talk group reported greater reductions in overall psychological distress, anxiety, and stress. The indoor group, however, saw better improvements in male-type depression, suggesting that different approaches may benefit different aspects of mental health.
Key findings
- Both walk-and-talk and indoor therapy improved depressive symptoms equally.
- Walk-and-talk therapy led to greater reductions in overall psychological distress, anxiety, and stress.
- Conventional indoor therapy improved male-type depression more than walk-and-talk therapy.
- Both approaches were highly acceptable to participants, with high retention and attendance rates.
How to analyze the study yourself
- Study type
- Randomized trials assign people to groups by chance, so differences between groups are unlikely to come from who chose what, but this was a small pilot study, so larger trials are needed to confirm these findings.
- Population
- Men with mild to moderate depression (mean PHQ-9 score = 11.4), mean age 44.1 years.
- Funding
- Not reported
- Takeaway
- This study found that outdoor walk-and-talk therapy improved overall psychological distress, anxiety, and stress more than indoor therapy, though both helped depressive symptoms equally. If you are dealing with low mood, it may be worth trying outdoor therapy for added stress relief.