Pasos de Bienestar
Walk With Awareness
Safety isn't an appendix to the model: it is part of the model. These ideas travel with the conversation before, during and after.
There's no good walk if taking it means ignoring your surroundings.
If holding the conversation forces you to stop noticing where you are, the walk has stopped being good for you.
Personal safety always takes priority over walking.
If walking isn't sensible today, the conversation can continue another way. Walking is never mandatory.
Conditions change
Conditions vary significantly by city, country, time of day and setting. No one outside your place can assess them for you. Some of the things worth looking at before you head out:
Personal safety and crime
How the area is today, at this hour.
Visible smartphone
Whether or not carrying your phone in plain sight is wise while walking.
Screen distraction
Looking at the screen while walking reduces your attention to the environment.
Traffic, crossings and vehicles
Avenues, corners, driveways.
Lighting
Enough natural or artificial light along the route.
Isolated routes
Stretches with no people, no exit or no signal.
Weather and temperature
Heat, cold, rain, wind, ice.
Air quality
Alerts, smoke, dust, allergies.
Terrain
Uneven sidewalks, slopes, slippery surfaces.
Animals and other local risks
Loose dogs, wildlife, construction, bikes.
Physical condition and mobility
Today's energy, injuries, treatments, pregnancy, recovery.
Any particular situation
Anything that reduces your capacity to stay aware of what's around you.
There are always alternatives
If walking isn't right today, the conversation isn't lost. The form changes, not the substance.
- Continue the conversation standing still in a safe place.
- Walk in a controlled space.
- Hold the session indoors.
- Change the route.
- Change the time.
- Reschedule.
- Hold the conversation without walking.
Never while driving
Pasos de Bienestar must never take place while driving a car, riding a bicycle, motorcycle or scooter, or operating any other vehicle or means of transport that requires active attention. If you're driving, the conversation waits.
Privacy in public spaces
Walking outdoors means walking among other people. Worth keeping in mind:
- Other people may be nearby.
- Part of the conversation could be overheard.
- Someone you know could run into you.
- Public or private cameras could capture images.
- You decide which topics to raise depending on the setting.
If the place stops being appropriate
- Pause.
- Change the topic.
- Change location.
- Continue later.
City, country and time zone
City and country are requested as operational information for Pasos de Bienestar, to better understand the participant's context, conditions and possible risks, and to schedule in the right time zone. No address, neighborhood or specific residential location is requested.
Private operational information
City and country used to understand context and safety. Not published.
Public information
City or country are shown only if the person expressly authorizes it.
At the start of each session
“Which city are you walking in today?” A simple question that recognizes you may be traveling and not necessarily walking in the city where you live.
Emergencies
Pasos de Bienestar is not an emergency service and cannot act as one.
- You keep the responsibility of knowing where you are.
- Contact the appropriate local services when needed.
- In a remote session, don't assume Marco or Pasos de Bienestar knows your exact location.
We don't ask for an emergency contact. If you'd like someone to know where you're walking, tell that person before the conversation.
What Pasos de Bienestar is and isn't
It is
- Conversation.
- Reflection.
- Mentoring and coaching.
- New perspectives.
It is not
- Psychotherapy.
- Mental-health treatment.
- A medical service.
- A medical assessment.
- An exercise or fitness program.
- An emergency or crisis-management service.
When a need falls outside the scope of Pasos de Bienestar, it will be named plainly and the appropriate professional will be recommended.