Impact of a horticultural therapy certificate program on students and their professional activity

Abstract

In the United States, horticultural therapy is primarily taught in university-affiliated certificate programs, with coursework for college credit that focuses on the use of horticulture for therapy and rehabilitation applied to a wide range of settings and applications. This study examines how individuals who have completed a certificate program at the Horticultural Therapy Institute (HTI) use their training. Associated with Colorado State University, HTI serves students from across the United States and internationally, has a relatively large student body, and is accredited by the American Horticultural Therapy Association. The majority of those who complete certificate courses are non-traditional adult learners who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher prior to enrollment. They are comprised of those with professional credentials in a variety of human service fields, those with experience in commercial horticulture, and those who seek to change careers or apply gardening skills in human service. Learning objectives for the intensive certificate courses include those that address horticultural therapy practice, treatment procedures, program development, therapeutic gardens, enabling tools, as well as site and program management. Understanding how individuals use horticultural therapy training is essential for career counseling and curriculum development, as well as to better understand the impact of horticultural therapy education. In order to collect this information, an online survey was sent to 317 people who completed the horticultural therapy certificate from 2003 through 2015. Questions included multiple choice and open-ended formats, with responses returned via the online tool and analyzed to gain an understanding of the influence of horticultural therapy certificate programs on graduates.