Walk and Talk therapy is a proposed intervention for dealing with ongoing mental distress as well as addressing issues related to past trauma. It combines Inner Child Work and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to manage current distress and relate to trauma by working within one's imagination. This is a proposal that has not been subjected to research and, therefore, should not be practised without the guidance of a professional. It is unproven and could be detrimental for some people as it is quite a potent technique.
The basics of Walk and Talk Therapy (WTT) involve the person imagining they are walking down the street holding the hand of themselves as a child when the technique is required. A conversation ensues between the two, and the person in the present applies Socratic questioning and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to their child self. The imagery of holding hands and walking gives an idea of support and progression forwards into the future.
The advantage of such a technique is that it can be summoned when the person has time after something distressing has happened. They can ask their child self to give an opinion on why the adult self could be distressed about the situation and learn the possible source of the thinking or beliefs behind the distress.
This technique not only encourages cognitive distancing but can also allow the person to show empathy and self-compassion, as well as gain some understanding of how past events influence present distress.
Example
Peter is waiting for a bus and sees his neighbours at the bus stop. He does not get on with his neighbours, and they deliberately ignore him in public, giving him negative vibes which make Peter feel distressed. As the bus is not coming for ten minutes, Peter decides to use WTT to explore what is happening. He uses his imagination to see himself walking with himself as a young child and starts the imaginary conversation:
Peter: 'How are you?'
Young Peter: 'I am upset.'
Peter: 'Why is that?'
Young Peter: 'I feel scared.'
Peter: 'What are you scared of?'
Young Peter: 'The neighbours standing at the bus stop.'
Peter: 'What is scary about them?'
Young Peter: 'My sister says that I should be scared of people like that.'
Peter: 'Why is that?'
Young Peter: 'Because they are "rough".'
Peter: 'What does "rough" mean?'
Young Peter: 'Like working-class scum.'
Peter: 'Why are they "working-class scum"?'
Young Peter: 'They just are.'
Peter: 'What does your mum think of this?'
Young Peter: 'Mummy married a working-class man to protect her against her abusive mother.'
Peter: 'So how does this relate to your neighbours?'
Young Peter: 'My father had power to protect my mother against her mum, so working-class people have power, so they are using that against me. And there is nobody around to protect me from them now.'
Peter: 'Surely these people have their own lives and do not really care about you?'
Young Peter: 'Yeah, like my dad does not care about me. He protected my mother from her mother, but he does not protect me and never did.'
Peter: 'Does that hurt?'
Young Peter: 'Yes, a lot.'
Peter: 'I understand. Let me give you a hug.'
Young Peter: 'Thank you, I need it.'
This is a hypothetical example and very brief.
Taking It Further
This technique could be applied to walking down the street with the 'child' at different ages. It could be for someone who is a child, a teen or a young adult. Another application is to walk and talk with yourself about something that upset you even up to a few minutes ago if something provoked a strong emotional response, to find out what is going on. It is good to show compassion to yourself as your near-present self, as people can be quite harsh and even punitive with themselves when they have emotions they do not want to have.
A further application is to apply it to other people in our lives, such as walking and talking to our mothers, fathers or siblings as children, teens or adults. There is also the idea of engaging with friends, colleagues, schoolmates or other people in our lives. These are representations of people in our own minds, so they can provide useful information. We could also have more than one person at once. But stick to CBT, Socratic questioning and compassion and care, even with people we may not be getting on with.
Conclusion
WTT represents a potentially useful therapeutic technique, and the application of CBT with Socratic questioning to images of oneself and others in the imagination can glean an understanding of past trauma and reasons for distressing emotional states in the present.
This is a potentially powerful technique but could also have dangers, so it is an untested proposal. Please be careful.