- Title
- Walk-and-talk therapy versus traditional indoor therapy for men with low mood: a randomised pilot study
- Creator
- Dickmeyer, Andrea
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Masters Coursework - Master of Clinical Psychology (MClinPsych)
- Description
- One in eight men in Australia will experience depression in their lifetime. Previous research has demonstrated that men struggle to engage with psychotherapy to address depression and other mental health issues. Therapists need to tailor their interventions to better fit men’s values and preferences (e.g., through emphasising autonomy, collaboration, and a more egalitarian relationship). One approach to better engage men is through ‘walk-and-talk therapy’. Walk-and-talk therapy involves a practitioner and client walking outdoors during their typical therapy session instead of sitting in an office. Walk-and-talk therapy increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, though there has not yet been a randomised controlled trial investigating walk-and-talk therapy for depression specifically targeting men. The present study was a randomised-controlled pilot trial investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of walk-and-talk therapy compared to traditional indoor therapy for men with low mood. 37 men were recruited and were randomly assigned to one hour per week for six weeks of either i) walk-and-talk therapy or ii) traditional indoor therapy at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Walk-and-talk sessions took place along a 4 km route with both built elements (paved foothpaths) and a biodiverse bushwalk component. Traditional indoor therapy sessions took place at the University Psychology Clinic. Participants completed pre-intervention and post-intervention measures on depression, anxiety, stress, mental wellbeing, behavioural activation, masculine-type depression, and psychological flexibility. Participants also completed post-intervention measures on therapeutic alliance and mental restoration. Results of the study indicated that the study exceeded all a-priori registered feasibility benchmarks including recruitment, attendance, setting fidelity, retention, and satisfaction. Preliminary efficacy data showed a greater reduction in overall psychological distress for the walk-and-talk group, while standard depression improved equally in both groups. In contrast, masculine-type depression improved greater in the traditional indoor group. Future studies are warranted to investigate different combinations of intervention arms.
- Subject
- walk and talk therapy; indoor therapy; men; low mood
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1492987
- Identifier
- uon:53460
- Rights
- Copyright 2023 Andrea Dickmeyer
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 166 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |