Healing Beyond the Office: Our Founder Kristy McConnell on Outdoor EMDR Therapy
- Kristy McConnell, R. Psych.
- Dec 30, 2025
- 19 min read
We're excited to share a recent podcast appearance from our founder and Registered Psychologist, Kristy McConnell, on the "Elephant in the Room" podcast, hosted by the Breaking Free Foundation. In this real conversation about trauma and healing, Kristy dives into one of the core approaches that makes Off the Beaten Path different: how outdoor-based therapy and EMDR work together to support trauma survivors.
If you've ever wondered whether you can actually heal trauma while walking outside, or how nature and nervous system regulation connect, this episode is for you.
View the Full Episode Here
Or scroll down to read the full transcript.
Full Transcript: "Healing Beyond the Office" Elephant in the Room Podcast | Hosted by Amber Craig | Guest: Kristy McConnell, R. Psych.
AMBER: Welcome to Elephant in the Room, a podcast featuring real conversations with real therapists on the elephant in every room: trauma. With this show, we are aiming to share insights from professional practitioners on trauma, its impacts, as well as various modalities and resources on healing for survivors. This podcast is produced by the Breaking Free Foundation, a Canadian registered charity that supports trauma survivors in reclaiming their lives and finding healing. All of the therapists interviewed on this podcast are members of the Breaking Free Foundation Trauma Practitioner Network. My name is Amber Craig. I am a trauma survivor, one of the co-founders of the Breaking Free Foundation, and the proud host of this podcast.
Today we are joined by Kristy McConnell. Kristy is the founder of Off the Beaten Path Psychology in Alberta, a registered psychologist and EMDR therapist with advanced training in emotion focused therapy, CBT for PTSD, and a lot more which we're going to talk about. Please welcome to the podcast Kristy. Thank you for being here.
So, um, that was kind of a lot that I just shoved into one sentence there to give a background on you, but I always like to let people introduce themselves and their professional background as it pertains to trauma. So, I'll hand it over to you to speak more to your experience.
KRISTY: Awesome. Thank you. Well, I started out as a special education teacher many years ago. Um, and I quickly realized that I wasn't best equipped to deal with some of the grief and the loss and frankly the trauma that both some of my students and the families of those students were dealing with. So, it kind of got me interested in going back to school and learning about counselling and psychology. And from there, I went on to become a psychologist. And that's kind of where I started to really become interested in trauma work. Um, I opened up Off the Beaten Path in 2017 when I was training for a marathon and realized I really had a lot of psychological benefit from training for the marathon and wondered frankly how I could claim my coach somehow on my health benefits. And uh, um, that kind of started the genesis of the idea for Off the Beaten Path. Um so we're currently operating out of Cochrane and Airdrie and Calgary. We have um a handful now of therapists that provide EMDR, emotion focused therapy and then outdoor therapy as well and any kind of combination of those. So yeah, that's kind of the gist of it.
AMBER: That's great. So that kind of leads me into my next question, which is that a core theme of the work that you're doing is really the question: can you heal trauma while being outdoors? How would you answer that question?
KRISTY: Yeah, so many of us talk about how being outside can be so healing, right? Especially if you are someone that loves to go to the mountains. Um, just being outside, going for walks regularly. Um, and so there's some key differences obviously in doing trauma work outside, in that there has to be a really solid relationship in place with the therapist in order to start to talk about how trauma fits into this nature-based approach. Um so once we have that relationship established, then we can look at the outside and how the outside also has this beautiful ingredient of providing that nervous system regulation. So um when we're outside and we're just able to kind of be present to the sounds, all the sensory um input around us, um our nervous system calms. So it kind of provides this really lovely um base of support to be able to do the trauma work. We know that being in nature, you know, lowers stress hormones, it helps with heart rate regulation, all those good things that kind of helps the physiology part of it. And then when we pair that with things like EMDR or trauma work, um it can kind of be this beautiful partner.
AMBER: I definitely want to get into EMDR in a little bit here, but before we kind of talk about that, um, comparing the work you're doing in nature compared to like a traditional therapeutic office setting, what changes do you notice in clients when their sessions are held outside versus inside?
KRISTY: I would say we kind of notice three general themes in um, working with clients outdoors. I would say the biggest one I noticed is that some clients are really self-conscious about coming to therapy, right? The idea of sitting across from a person in the room where they're looking directly at you can feel super overwhelming. Um there's this um maybe sense that you have to perform therapy. Um so walking outside, you're both looking usually forward trying not to trip. Um, and so it kind of allows um that kind of downward regulation, that ability to just calm uh and look ahead and walk. Um, that's one theme I noticed, just that idea that it really helps clients um who might be a little bit intimidated by the office experience. Um, again, like I mentioned before, we know that nature can just provide that calming um experience. Um it's naturally um regulating in that left right left right which I'll talk a little bit more about in EMDR um when I talk about that um and then the other wonderful thing about being outside is it's this wonderful place to connect to metaphors um things in nature like um how if a tree you know if a branch has come down or a tree has fallen how that compares to maybe the fawn response or the nervous system needing to collapse in response to something that's happened. Um, how two seemingly very different leaves can be the change that you've made in your life and how they can both be beautiful. So, just themes that we can pull out of nature really naturally. Um, so that's what I notice as key differences um when we're outside versus in the office.
AMBER: So, you've kind of touched on it a bit there, but just to sort of like pull this back to the trauma conversation, um, when we speak about survivors of trauma, why do you think the outdoors can feel inherently safer for them through this therapeutic experience?
KRISTY: Yeah, super good question. Um, so nature is um regulating the nervous system. Um some of the polyvagal work talks about how our nervous system needs cues of safety in order to ground. And when you've experienced trauma, you really need to experience those cues in order to come into social engagement. The idea that we can heal from the trauma. Um and so nature does provide these cues, right? You might hear a bird singing and that orients you to the present moment. You might stop during the session and listen to the water in the stream and that would help ground in the present. Um, so the idea that for folks that have experienced trauma, nature can be grounding by itself, but then actually um the lived experience of being in nature itself can be grounding on its own when we're queuing the nervous system to pay attention to what's around us. Um, so I think that has helped uh clients who have experienced trauma learn how to be grounded and present in the moment by having that bridged experience right in front of us.
AMBER: So I want to talk about EMDR a bit. I'm sure anyone who subscribes to this podcast knows about it by now because we talk about it all the time. But for anyone who's not familiar, can you explain what EMDR therapy is and how it works?
KRISTY: Oh, I love that you've had lots of EMDR folks and I hope I do a good job like I'm sure many of them have in explaining what it is. But um EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. It's an evidence-based trauma treatment or modality that's structured um meaning that it follows kind of a process and the idea is based on the beautiful mind's ability to heal itself. And so when memories, traumatic memories get stuck in the system or in the past and then we experience those kinds of triggers in the present moment um EMDR helps facilitate that stuck memory into adaptation or a more helpful way to um integrate the trauma. Um, we look at how memories, beliefs, uh, body sensations, emotions all work together. Um, and then figure out what the trauma was and how to bring it into that helpful response. It was actually, um, kind of happenstance encountered upon by uh, the late Francine Shapiro. And she was actually walking in a park, thinking about a distressing event. Um, and she noticed when she moved her eyes back and forth across the path that the distressing event seemed to lose its emotional charge. Um, and so she, you know, came about it that way and so it kind of is a natural fit for Off the Beaten Path as well.
AMBER: Yeah, that's actually very interesting. I didn't know that that particular scenario is what what brought it to be, but it's a perfect segue into this conversation about why EMDR outdoors actually impacts the process or the outcome of the trauma treatment. So, can you speak more to what you were just kind of getting into there?
KRISTY: Yeah. So, um and it was so fitting for me to, you know, I was doing the outdoor therapy before I did my EMDR training. So when I learned that story, I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is amazing." Um, but um, when we're doing EMDR outdoors, the mechanism itself of EMDR doesn't change. We still follow what's called the standard protocol where we follow the three-pronged approach, which is the past, the present, and the future. And we look at how those three prongs fit within the eight phases of EMDR. Um what helps in terms of how um outdoors comes into the picture is like I mentioned before the physiology changes when we're outside. So if we know that from research that um our nervous systems can be more calm uh when we're outside um if the stress hormones have come to a more natural baseline if our heart rate is more uh steady our blood pressure is lower that is a really good foundation for uh then being able to access the memories and be able to start moving them into a healthy adaptation. Um and then because nature or walking outside in nature um provides this beautiful layer of that bilateral stimulation um EMDR the eye movements are kind of the famous bilateral stimulation but walking is also bilateral that left right movement. Um, so that rhythm allows the system to integrate the EMDR um, memories, body sensations, beliefs um, in a more kind of uh, enhanced way. Shall I say?
AMBER: It makes a lot of sense. It's very interesting that until I was connected with you, I didn't know that EMDR could really be done outdoors, but it makes a lot of sense when you explain it. Um, yeah, besides EMDR, I guess just in general, what does science or research kind of tell us about what the connection is between exposure to nature and nervous system regulation?
KRISTY: When I was first researching this idea, like, is this even a thing? Could I even do this? Like nature outside, am I like bananas for thinking this might work? Um, I was doing a lot of things like trying to figure out research around what is out there that could ethically make me feel okay about this approach. Um, and so there was a lot of studies obviously on exercise outdoors, right? Walking or running or doing some sort of activity outside often has an enhanced psychological benefit compared to where you might be on a treadmill inside or doing some sort of exercise indoors. So the psychological benefits that they saw paired with exercise was there. Um, and then of course we also know that being outside just on its own, as I said before, there's lots of meta-analysis and and large cohort studies that look at how it can be beneficial. Just even 10 to 20 minutes of just being outdoors can lower the hormone levels, regulate the heart rate, blood pressure, all that kind of stuff. Um and then um there's also research out there that supports um you know the comparison. The SMILE studies are kind of the famous ones that looked at what happens if you take an anti-depressant and then what happens if you do exercise, what happens if you do both and what happens if you um do one and then the other. And so there was often a lot of research that came around to showing that in many cases exercise was um as effective as taking an anti-depressant. Um and so all those kind of things coming together made it seem like this would be something to try. Um and and for a lot of clients it has been super helpful. Some clients will still always prefer to be in the office, but even for some folks, having the option um can be really helpful in terms of thinking about how they move forward to resiliency.
AMBER: Um you've done a beautiful job of kind of explaining the many benefits of doing this outside. I kind of want to address some of the potential concerns. Um kind of starting with how do you ensure safety, privacy, and like emotional containment when you're holding sessions outside?
KRISTY: Yeah, that's a super good question. Um just like in any therapy, there's always going to be risks and benefits, right? And so it's really important that clients know the risks and benefits uh before they get started in something like this. So um there are you know really needing to be considered even in terms of like are you physically fit enough to go for a walk for an hour and that kind of thing. So that's definitely a conversation that has to occur before uh taking part in this kind of approach. Um, some of the other risks can be things like, um, for example, if someone is in a relationship that isn't healthy and it could be dangerous for them to be seen outdoors with someone. Um, those are the kinds of things that we need to take into account. Um, so having those conversations about confidentiality and the risks and benefits of being outdoors is one of the first things we need to do even before getting outside. Um it's not going to be the best approach for everyone. And so just as we would in in office therapy where we do an assessment, we look at what their support systems, what you know buffers do they have in place, what coping skills. That's all important. Um in terms of like confidentiality specifically, we can't we can't guarantee it. You know, we might you know, I might see you out on the path and oh, okay, she's with Kristy. that must mean something, right? So, we have to talk about that and clients of course have free will and choice to decide if that's um going to fit for them. Um I mentioned before too in terms of containment um we will talk about things like um you know if if uh emergency contacts, what we need to do if something if something comes up and we need to take a break or we need to go inside or whatever that looks like. And all of our therapists have um plans in terms of what that would look like. But containment also can be um used in nature, right? So if if we're coming across a distressing memory and uh we're not prepared to process that or really work with that memory yet, nature does provide a lot of really cool containment strategies by itself. So where can we leave this? You know, can we put this under this tree? um in terms of mentalizing that idea and then and leave it behind and then we'll come back to this tree next time and see if we're ready to work with it at that point. So um there's there risks and benefits, there's the logistics, but um a lot of times we can work through those if the client's open to the idea. Um and then if if it's not going to be a fit, then that's always okay, too.
AMBER: So, speaking of who's a fit and who isn't, are are there certain types of trauma or certain clients that would benefit the most from this approach outdoors or on the flip side some that you would suggest maybe this isn't the right thing for them?
KRISTY: Um, I'll speak anecdotally about the kinds of clients that have maybe reported a lot of benefit. Um, I definitely have experienced a lot of first responders who really enjoy it. Um, they um they I don't mean to generalize, but the folks that have mentioned that they've really enjoyed um that have been in kind of first responder helping roles like that again that kind of looking forward, not having to look face to face. Um that movement combined with the trauma processing or the outdoor therapy. Um folks with neurodivergence like if they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or um things like that, they've often um reported some benefits from it. Um we have one of our therapists that works with a lot of teen and youth and he will take them and do disc golf, right? And so, um, kids that maybe haven't really engaged with, uh, outdoor or therapy before have often really benefited from that, uh, entry point that way. Um, and then, as you mentioned on the flip side, um, the cautions are the folks that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for would be some folks that are quite dissociative. Um if they have a really hard time um grounding, if there's any, like I mentioned, any safety things we need to take into consideration, like would it be safe for them to be seen in public with someone? Um anyone that struggles to kind of connect with the present moment, um or if they're in some kind of crisis, we would have to do a really good assessment of whether or not this would be the right kind of approach for them. Does that kind of answer the question from both sides?
AMBER: Yeah, absolutely. You gave me a lot to think about that I hadn't considered. Um, something that you sort of mentioned that just leads into my next question is as you know, many trauma survivors can feel really disconnected from their body. So, um, how does being outside help to actually rebuild that connection?
KRISTY: Yeah, that's a really good question. Um, we know that sometimes when you've gone through trauma, you people will report um overwhelming like that flooding sensation in their body or they'll talk about how their body feels disconnected from what's up here. Um and I think um being outside in nature where there's a lot of sensory input, there's also that natural rhythm that occurs. Um it does provide us a lot of opportunities to practice reorienting to the body and to do so in a careful way where we're not jumping in with two feet uh head deep. We're going to um we're going to start maybe with just noticing the temperature or noticing the light um noticing the sounds. Um but we if we understand and and believe that our um our mind and our body are have this beautiful ability to uh have plasticity and learn uh new ways to ground. Um it can connect us back to our body the body in a way that is is careful and intentional um just by providing like I said even those uh metaphors in nature but also the sensory experiences it can provide in a more natural way. Um, we do have a lot of obviously trauma survivors who listen to this podcast, but we also have many trauma therapists who listen to it as well who are sort of learning about different types of therapy that they could explore in their practice. So, what would you say to therapists who are curious but perhaps hesitant about taking their work outside?
AMBER: Well, first I want to say hello to everyone. Um, I think, um, if you're feeling nervous about it, that's a really good sign, actually, cuz it's it's not something to just start as a therapist. It's a clinical intervention. It's much more than just going for a walk with a client. Um, just like therapy is more than talking with a friend, right? It's it's very much about um a case conceptualization that supports being outside with someone and understanding why that might be beneficial for them. So if folks are a little bit hesitant, I would say that's a good place to start. Um and and that generally means with therapists that we're going to do our research, right? We're going to look at what are the ethical considerations. Um what do I need to think about for confidentiality, the risks and benefits? what happens if it's, you know, minus 40 and it's windy outside? Um, all those kinds of things. So, um, and and to start slow and with intention. So, even the idea of maybe just going, you know, outside of your office and sitting on a bench with a client and starting there and seeing what that feels like. Um, or going for a walk, not maybe doing EMDR outside just yet. Um, and thinking about how that might be a fit. Um I also when I started the practice I did um search out a couple of therapists that had been doing this approach. I found one in California which would have would be a really cool place to do outdoor therapy and then uh a guy in England and I consulted with both of them to see kind of what they had done what kind of informed consent they had um incorporated into this work. So, I do think consultation is always beneficial as a as a psychologist, but um for this approach in particular, if you have ideas, that's always a good place to think about going as well.
AMBER: I can imagine like all for all the reasons that you've already said why why being outside can be super helpful to your mental health and your your nervous system regulation that you also would be getting some residual benefits from being able to to do your work outside all the time. So, I think that's a really amazing thought.
KRISTY: Absolutely. It's definitely something that can help. Like uh in our crew, we've talked about how it's like, oh, you know, we had three sessions outdoors today and two in the office, and it just is that natural kind of prevention of burnout and and changing it up a little bit. So, it's it's definitely helped all of us, too.
AMBER: That's so great. Um, how can our listeners learn more about this type of therapy um through your practice?
KRISTY: Uh we're we're so happy to connect with anyone out there that would like to connect with us and and explore this idea, whether that be therapists looking for consultation or clients who are looking to try this approach. Um so our website um off the beaten path psychology um you can find us uh on there. Um, we also, uh, have a blog and and we've done quite a few posts on, uh, therapy outside or EMDR or the combination thereof. Um, so that's always a possibility as well. And then and then, of course, it's most of us are these days, we're on social media as well, so you can find us there, too.
AMBER: Perfect. Okay. And, um, we will have links to everything in our show notes as well. I always like to ask everyone this question before we finish, which is uh what favorite trauma resources do you have that you like to recommend for clients and therapists or for anyone just like what's your what's your go-to resources that you find yourself always recommending to others?
KRISTY: Cool. Um well actually some of the best trauma um professional development I ever had was um the Alberta Family Wellness Initiatives um brain story certification. I really enjoyed that. Um and they have some lovely metaphors that they use to talk about how um how the brain develops and and what trauma does to the brain. Um, I I obviously have to give a shout out to Francine Shapiro's book, um, Getting Past Your Past. That's the book she wrote for, um, both therapists and folks that, you know, out there that just want to think about how they can move past their past. Um, as an EMDR practitioner that is kind of doing something different, um, EMDR, like I said, it's a very structured protocol. Uh but um being outside is a little more creative. So um there's some folks that I've really um enjoyed that kind of look at the art of EMDR in addition to it being evidence-based. Um so Laurel Parnell um she has a kind of um popular book called Tapping In. Um, and it provides a lot of ideas for using um using like nature metaphors or or resource tapping in a way that helps um bring our systems into um a positive or adapted response. Um and also um another Shapiro, Robin Shapiro, she's an EMDR practitioner, but she also um she wrote a really cool book called um Easy Ego State Interventions. and the way she does EMDR. I've always just found it very um creative, exciting, the way she talks about it. Um she's a really good writer. So, I really like anything. And then there's of course the classics that you've probably had said a million times on here like The Body Keeps the Score and you know, all that kind of stuff. So, um I'm sure I'd be repeating a lot of um cool people that have come before that have mentioned some of those.
AMBER: That's great. I love that you gave me all kinds of new ones that we haven't heard on this podcast. So, that's amazing. I'll make sure that all the resources as well are in the show notes. Um is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners before we close?
KRISTY: Um well, thank you for listening to this podcast and Amber, thank you for the work that you do. Um, I'm I'm really impressed by it. Um, I think what I'd want to say to the listeners is is that um, a lot of times therapy can feel like a very like office heady job that we have to go through to try to heal. And if nothing else, I just want people to know that there is a different way that um might help us kind of connect with our body um and still kind of base it in that relationship, that connection, but that we can also bring in movement um which can really help the nervous system. So hopefully it's a different way to access healing that um maybe some people might be interested to try. So and thank you so much for having me too also that.
AMBER: Yes. Thank you so much for um being on our show. Really always appreciate the opportunity to learn about different types of of approaches to trauma therapy. So, thank you so much for being on the show. And if anyone is looking for more information about Kristy or Off the Beaten Path Psychology, please see our show notes. Thank you so much.
KRISTY: Thank you.
AMBER: The Breaking Free Foundation offers therapy grants for trauma survivors in Alberta and we also host two free support meetings a month. One is in person in Calgary and one is online. For more information on trauma therapy and our organization, please visit us online at breakingfree foundation.ca. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and share. That's all for now. Stay well.
More Resources from Off the Beaten Path:
At Off the Beaten Path Psychology, we provide counselling and therapy services to individuals, couples, and families in Airdrie, Calgary, and Cochrane, Alberta. Our team supports anxiety, burnout, relationship challenges, and trauma recovery. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your mental health journey.