What is Parkour and What is Parkour Therapy?

Parkour is a sport and expressive discipline in which practitioners (called traceurs) attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without any assisting equipment and often while performing feats of acrobatics. The word parkour is derived from parcours du combattant, meaning obstacle course, and parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, balancing, vaulting, jumping, flipping, plyometrics, rolling and quadrupedal movement - whatever is suitable for a given situation. Parkour involves seeing one's environment in a new way, facing fears, and being mentally flexible. Parkour athletes learn to envision the potential for navigating fluidly through an environment by movement around, across, through, over and under its features.

Parkour therapy is an innovative therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Dee Franklin, that combines the dynamic and physically engaging sport of Parkour with CBT principles, to address a variety of psychological challenges. This approach combines movement, mindfulness and overcoming physical obstacles to help individuals tackle mental and emotional barriers in a unique, experiential way. Parkour therapy is particularly effective in treating issues such as anxiety, frustration intolerance, fears and phobias, attentional difficulties, OCD, and body image concerns. Through controlled physical activity alongside expert clinical guidance, Parkour therapy promotes change. By helping clients build mental resilience, develop problem-solving skills, improve focus, engage in personally relevant exposure therapy and gain a sense of empowerment, clients learn to face their challenges rather than running from them.