Cara’s story is one of pure resilience. We hit the trail today in Tiknock on quite a lovely April afternoon and Cara is looking very glam, not at all what I’d expect from a professional hiker/psychotherapist. “I’m still a makeup artist in my soul” she tells me. She’s referring to her past life, when she worked as a makeup artist. Cara has been many things, a make up artist, an entrepreneur and even a barista. Life has not been without its challenges. She lost her business and the entirety of her life savings in the recession, but she didn't let it stop her

She pivoted hard and in a really fantastic way. Cara always wanted to be a therapist, so faced with an opportunity to re-train, she took a job as a barista to make ends meet and studied every moment she could, achieving a masters degree in psychotherapy.

Cara began hiking almost accidentally. She was invited away on a girls trip which was to include a “walk”, but it wasn’t really specified that the walk was up Ben Nevis. “I didn’t own a pair of boots or a bag, I had literally no experience, I was a certified couch potato at that point, but I fell in love with hiking instantly.”

Cara came home from her girls trip with a new hobby but also a new perspective. “I came back and realised that I don’t get to see my friends enough. Everyone is always so busy. So I messaged every woman I know in a group chat, there must have been about 80 of them. And I said that I would be heading for a walk, at this place, and this time, rain or shine. It was noncommittal, people didn’t have to message if they weren’t coming. And it just took off. All through covid too, we’d gather and walk while socially distanced.”

She was working as a psychotherapist in a clinic during that time and covid had pushed all of her therapy sessions online.”A lot of clients were like, is there any chance I could see you in person? And that’s when I had the idea for Hike Psych. It’s outdoors, it’s one on one, it was perfect for covid.”

From then, Cara’s business has grown exponentially. Her waiting list can be years long. People seem to really love the idea of walking and talking and she has clients from every demographic and background, every fitness level and age group. “I see a lot of people who are neurodivergent because just the very nature of the fact that you're not staring at each other in a room makes a huge difference. People with ADHD in particular might have a lot of excess energy, so the bilateral movement really helps them expend that.”

It’s easy to see Cara’s approach to therapy as a huge opportunity for so many people who may be hesitant about seeking a bit of support, they can ease themselves into it. “There’s something easier about doing it this way. You build trust much faster as you’re going through the experience together. I’m co-regulating with them, syncing up our steps and our breathing.”

I’ve come back from my walk with Cara feeling lighter, whether it was the fresh air, or the lovely conversation. I can totally see why her waitlist is as long as it is.