Walking Therapy in Nashville
Walking therapy allows our guests to engage in therapeutic conversations while walking in a natural environment. The Happy Hour is able to offer walking therapy across the street at Sevier Park and within the beautiful and walkable neighborhood of 12 South.
Walking therapy could be a good option for you if you find a typical face-to-face therapy setup intimidating or uncomfortable, or if movement helps you to process your thoughts and emotions.
Here are some potential benefits of this approach:
- Physical activity releases feel-good hormones
- Enjoy the calming effect of nature
- The outdoors can enhance mental well-being
- Improved rapport and connection for some
- Increased engagement and motivation
- Integration of body and mind
- Transferable coping skills
Jeannette Diddens, LCSW is a certified walking therapist and upon request, may be able to integrate walking sessions after your initial session.
Your first session will be in the studio for information gathering and discussing treatment goals. Jeannette will also discuss the limitations of walk therapy, such as weather, a quiet route to take, your walking pace, and what to do if you run into an acquaintance while on your walking session.
The Gottman Method
The Gottman Method in couples therapy involves a comprehensive evaluation of the couple’s relationship and incorporates evidence-based interventions rooted in the principles of the Sound Relationship House Theory. The goals of The Gottman Method are to:
- Disarm conflicting verbal communication
- Increase intimacy, respect, and affection
- Remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy
- Create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the culmination of the Doctors Julie and John Gottman’s lifelong work, and has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen romantic relationships.
The renowned psychologists and relationship experts, have outlined their “Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work” based on extensive research and clinical observations. These principles serve as a guide for couples to build and maintain a strong, healthy relationship.
You will learn how to:
✔️ Foster respect, affection and closeness
✔️ Build and share a deeper connection
with each other’s inner world
✔️ Keep conflict discussions calm
✔️ Breakthrough and resolve conflict
gridlock
✔️ Strengthen and maintain the gains in
your relationship
A brief breakdown of the 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work
1. Build Love Maps
- Understand your partner’s world by staying attuned to their likes, dislikes, dreams, and fears.
- Regularly update your knowledge about your partner to foster emotional connection.
2. Nurture Fondness and Admiration
- Cultivate a positive view of your partner, focusing on their strengths and positive qualities.
- Express admiration and appreciation for each other regularly.
3. Turn Toward Each Other Instead of Away
- During times of stress or when one partner seeks connection, respond with kindness and engagement.
- Small gestures of connection, like shared jokes or comforting touches, build emotional bonds.
4. Let Your Partner Influence You
- This is sharing the decision making and being willing to both make decisions and respect your partner’s decisions.
5. Solve Your Solvable Problems
- There are solvable and unsolvable problems in marriage/relationships.
- Softened Startup, Repair and De-escalation, Physiological Self-Soothing, Accepting What You Cannot Change, Accepting Influence, and Compromise.
6. Overcome Gridlock
- Some problems in relationships are unsolvable- overcoming gridlock is understanding what problems are perpetual and how to overcome them and foster better communication.
7. Create Shared Meaning
- Develop a shared sense of purpose, goals, and values within the relationship.
- Identify and work towards common goals that contribute to a shared sense of fulfillment.
By integrating these principles into their daily lives, couples can enhance their emotional connection, manage conflicts more effectively, and build a resilient and fulfilling marriage. It’s important to note that these principles are not just for troubled relationships but can also be proactive tools for maintaining a healthy marriage.
The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work Course
Led by Amy Jackson, LCSW-MPH, this course will help couples focus on each other, on paying attention to the small day-to-day moments that, strung together, make up the heart and soul of any relationship.
Through a combination of introspective exploration, partner exercises, and individual and collaborative handouts, you and your partner will be given practical, everyday tools to choose one another in your actions, words, and intentions.
Bonus: This course can be used towards premarital counseling (hello marriage license discount).
All the materials you will need, including John Gottman’s book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work and two accompanying workbooks will be provided, and are included in the price. Payment plans are available.
You and your partner can participate in this course privately, or sign up to be the first to know about the next cohort of this powerful workshop. Coming 2024.