Green Grass Therapy
Professional psychotherapy in the outdoors
Green Grass Therapy
Professional psychotherapy in the outdoors
About Green Grass Therapy
My Mission
At Green Grass Therapy, my mission is to provide high-quality counselling services outside in nature, to individuals who are experiencing emotional or psychological difficulties.
What is the Process?
First session
If you send me an email, we will arrange a first introduction over zoom/teams online to discuss what you are hoping to get from therapy and how and where we will work together. There is no charge for this initial conversation and it usually lasts about 30 minutes. After that we will meet weekly for an hour at a place in nature near you (often Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens or another green space nearby).
Sessions and fees
Initially we usually work for 12 sessions (3 months), at which point we will review and we can extend for another 12 sessions (up to 6 months) if we agree together it would be beneficial. Note that I do not usually offer open-ended therapy, though I am happy to have a discussion if you feel at the end of our sessions that you would benefit from more sessions with me.
My fees are £65 per hour, but I am willing to offer concessions if needed, as I want therapy to be accessible to as many people as possible.
About me
Emily Alford, MBACP, MA
I am an integrative psychotherapist working primarily outdoors with clients in South-West London and Surrey. I believe nature has many benefits for mental health, especially in promoting nervous system regulation. I have researched and written extensively on this subject, as well as training to Masters (MA) level in traditional talking therapy, and I integrate these two ways of working into my approach to therapy.
My Approach
I provide a friendly, professional and confidential relationship to explore the issues you are facing, with the support of nature to promote mental health and wellbeing. Perhaps you are feeling anxious, depressed or generally low, or you want to discuss some issues currently affecting you now or in the past with someone impartial and trained to help.
I believe we all feel better outside, giving us respite from technology and other stressors in life. I am also trained in many modalities of talking therapy and can tailor my approach to you. For instance, I work with CBT techniques for health anxieties and OCD, whilst I utilise compassion-focussed therapy to help understand our critical voice and how to build a compassionate way of talking to ourselves.
Neurodiversity
I am a neurodiversity-affirmative therapist, with extensive personal and professional experience of Autism and ADHD.
Many clients I have worked with have noted that working outdoors can feel less intense and more relaxed than working indoors with a therapist in a therapy room. This can be a great choice particularly for clients who are new to therapy and those who are neurodiverse.
My Qualifications
Registered member of the British Association for Psychotherapists and Counsellors (MBACP)
MA (with merit) in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy from Roehampton University (2025)
Higher Education Certificate (with distinction) in Psychodynamic Counselling in a Psychosocial Setting from Birkbeck College (2021)
Graduate Diploma in Law (with distinction) from BPP (2013)
BSc in Biology (with first class honours) from Imperial College (2009), with a focus on microbiology and neuroscience.
My Research
I feel passionately about the benefits of nature for mental health and conducted an MA dissertation comparing nature therapy to traditional talking therapy inside. My research can be found below, along with a poster that I am presenting this year at the BACP Research Conference (May 2026).
My Experience
I currently work in private practice as an outdoor integrative psychotherapist in Surrey.
I worked as a psychotherapist for 2 years at Release Counselling for the YMCA in Wimbledon (2023-2025), and I continue to work there as a counselling assessor.
I have been a volunteer Guide with Dose of Nature, a nature-based mental health charity, for 5 years, working 1:1 with clients outdoors to improve mental health and wellbeing.