– F.A.Q.

What does a session look like ? (https://vimeo.com/292027457)

Beginning in one of my offices (San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley) I’ll ask you some general questions to get to know you a bit. From there we’ll talk about the challenges and goals that you’d like to address in our work together. When we head outdoors, we’ll be moving at a pace that is conversational for both of us. The idea is to meet your goals for psychological & emotional health in novel and comfortable format.

Who do you usually work with ?

– Professionals: especially folks working long hours in traditional office settings, for whom the idea of getting therapy on-the-move is a welcome novelty.

– Tweens & Teens

– Parents struggling with work/life/relationship challenges

Over the years I have enjoyed working with a wide variety of people: Management-level employees of major corporations; professional athletes; mid-life career changers; recently homeless single parents; distressed teens of C-suite parents.

Please note that for Parent/Child sessions, or work with multiple members of your family, the sessions may be longer at times (90 mins, instead of 50) — and carry a higher fee ($225).

How long will this take ?

Research in the field of psychotherapy has shown that most significant change happens in the first few months, and then progress tends to be more gradual & incremental, depending on the nature of the goals or challenges.

Am I going to get a workout, and have therapy ?

The intent of combining a hike (or mellow trot) and psychotherapy is not really to get two things done at once, we move at a pace which feels comfortable to have a conversation. I do sometimes encourage more vigorous segments of running as part of a session.

What about being overheard by other people ?

A question people have in thinking about this fusion of therapy & running is the possibility of being overheard. In my experience, it is rare for more than a few sentences to be caught by any one person going by — and it’s part of my practice to maintain a minds-eye to our immediate surroundings, effectively addressing this issue. That said, it is certainly possible that things you share will be overheard, and as such the complete and total confidentiality of your words cannot be promised in the same manner as in the confines of a closed-door office appointment.

What if I can’t (or don’t want to) run ?

The not-so-subtle pun of the name of my practice should be taken literally; we’ll likely walk as much as we jog. Easily 50% of outdoor time tends to be spent walking, not running.

What about when it rains ?

Sometimes we’ll have to retreat back indoors — although I am happy to have outdoor sessions in the rain, so long as the weather won’t get in the way of our conversation.

Should I pack snacks, water, sunscreen ?

No, I’ll take care of all this sort of thing in our work together — and when we meet for the first time in one of my offices, these are among the considerations that we’ll cover before we actually head outside.

Where did this idea come from ?

Your Pace is the natural conclusion to the evolution of a career path from non-profit worker, to psychotherapist / supervisor / program manager, and finally to an evolving understanding of the potential of integrating light-to-moderate exercise with psychotherapy. I have peers to refer to both locally & in text: (Running As Therapy, An Integrated Approach; M. Sachs & G Buffone).

The roots of the modern concept of Running Therapy belong to a psychiatrist who came to the idea through his own deteriorating mental & physical health. Thaddeus Kostrubala, M.D., in The Joy of Running inspired a generation of non-runners to consider both the health benefits of running, and the positive psychological impacts.

In the pursuit of this outside-the-box approach to therapy, I am also encouraged by a few peers around the country & in the UK:

Sepideh Saremi, Bill Lent, & William Pullen.

And, maybe we’ve run together already ?

Personal Record for Daniel Sapoznick