At the Hong-reung Arboretum in Seoul, Korea, middle-aged adults being treated for depression walked among the trees and alpine plants before participating in their weekly cognitive behavioral therapy sessions. At the end of one month, 61 percent of the forest-walkers were in remission, three times the rate of patients whose psychotherapy took place in a hospital. In an Austrian study, adding mountain hiking to standard medical treatment reduced suicidal thinking and hopelessness among individuals who had previously attempted suicide.
