Garden Therapy Research Articles

Gardening and Garden Therapy as a Resource for Human Psychological Well-Being

Gardening, as one of the most popular active types of interaction with the world of flora, is used by people to meet various needs (e.g., intellectual, social and some others). However, its restorative potential for the psyche of a person living in the digital era and the urban environment remains underestimated. The authors examine the main effects of gardening activities and therapy on the physical and psychological state of a person, as well as its potential in the context of strengthening social ties and social engagement. There are also positive effects of gardening on the psychological state of children. The research potential of gardening activities as a way to reduce the psychological distress resulting from social isolation and sedentary lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic is highlight. In addition, an analysis is made of the possible mechanisms of the beneficial effect of gardening on people’s mental health both within the framework of specific theories, including the stress reduction theory, the attention restoration theory, the theory of phyto-resonance, and in the context of individual modern studies. The literature review was carried out based on the analysis of studies in different countries of the world (Australia, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, Oman, Romania, Singapore, USA, Taiwan and Sweden). The limitations of some of the studies under consideration are presented, mostly concerning the purity of their design; study vectors for further research and practical application are also outlined.

Hortiterapia jako metoda wspomagająca rehabilitację dzieci i młodzieży

Horticultural therapy as a support method to rehabilitation of children and adolescents The article discusses the issue of horticultural therapy. The first part of the article is a theoretical background of the problem in the literature of the subject: the definitions of garden therapy and its assumptions. The second part presents the development of horticultural therapy in a global and Polish perspective. The next part contains the features of a therapeutic garden, plants used in garden therapy, and the use of horticultural therapy in the rehabilitation process and in work with children. Follow-up of the article describes horticultural therapy activities in the Special School and Educational Center no. 3 in Krakow. The last part of the article contains conclusions of own research.

Active garden therapy for the elderly and people with disabilities

Garden therapy has been used in the world medical practice for many decades. There are many examples where human interaction with plants has a positive impact or facilitates the lives of various segments and groups of society: children, youth, elderly people, with mental health problems, people with disabilities, crime victims, patients with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, mental health problems, drug addicts and alcoholics, combatants, victims of military or terrorist acts, etc. Garden therapy is the process of using plants and the garden to improve well-being through the effects on the mind, body and soul. Garden therapy combines gardening and rehabilitation and is a synthesis of landscape design, medicine and psychology. It can help work with different target groups: in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation and cancer centers, hospices, as well as other medical and residential complexes. Despite this, garden therapy is still not widespread in Ukraine and requires wider development. This is due to the general set of social and health problems, as well as regional problems of modern times, including the post-Chernobyl factor, the mass factor of post-traumatic stress disorders among the affected population of the temporarily occupied territories and the contingent of ATO participants. Undoubtedly, the urgent task today is to develop garden therapy programs for recovery from illness and combating the stressful effects of prolonged self-isolation during quarantine activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article considers an example of creating a location for active garden therapy for visitors to the Center for medical and social rehabilitation services in Melitopol, Zaporozhia region.

Socio-psychological rehabilitation of scientific and pedagogical workers by means of landscape therapy

The article highlights the essence of landscape therapy as an interdisciplinary concept and the place of this method among other means of social and psychological rehabilitation. The psychological and aesthetic aspects of human perception of landscape complexes as a means of social and psychological rehabilitation are revealed. The application of the landscape therapy method is presented in the context of three of the most modern and promising approaches in international social work: an approach based on clients' strengths, an approach focused on "empowerment" or "activation" of clients and the concept of green social work. The article proves the fallacy of approaching landscape therapy only as a natural background during the application, so to speak, of the basic techniques of art therapy. The forms of application of landscape therapy in social practices accepted in the world (for example, garden therapy in hospitals and rehabilitation centers) and social practices introduced at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine are described. The categories of scientific and pedagogical workers for whom landscape therapy is the most recommended are defined. It is emphasized that landscape therapy's therapeutic and rehabilitative effect during interaction with scientific and pedagogical workers is aimed not only at obtaining aesthetic satisfaction, but also at optimizing negative emotional states. The state of studying the problem of the influence of different types of landscape ecosystems on the psycho-emotional sphere of a person is analyzed. Landscape therapy as an autonomous method of social and psychological rehabilitation is perceived in the world as an effective tool for influencing clients and patients with a number of mental, social and physical problems. Ecotherapy (nature therapy) and garden therapy (therapeutic gardens) are actively developing in the world as branches that are close in concept to landscape therapy. The rehabilitative potential of the means of landscape therapy in the conditions of sanatorium-resort treatment has been clarified. The results of an empirical study conducted on the basis of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine on the study of daily (routine) self-recovery techniques of scientific and pedagogical workers during the working day are presented.

Садовая терапия в ботаническом саду ВИЛАР: использование, возможности и проблемы

The results of studying the number of microorganisms in the air above various species of aromatic plants, elements of flower bed and landscaping in the VILAR botanical garden are presented. It is shown that there are less microorganisms in the air above a flower bed created from aromatic, medicinal and ornamental plants than in the air above the lawn by 1,4 times, and by 1,7–2,5 times than above the dirt and asphalt paths. The greatest antimicrobial effect was observed for Hyssopus officinalis L., Origanum vulgare L., Thymus serpyllum L. Due to the lack of specially trained personnel, mainly passive garden therapy is carried out.

ZASTOSOWANIE HORTITERAPII W PRACY Z DZIEĆMI... Z NIEPEŁNOSPRAWNOŚCIĄ INTELEKTUALNĄ W STOPNIU UMIARKOWANYM

The subject of this article is to present the importance of hortitherapy in working with children with moderate intellectual disability. Hortitherapy is a newsupportive method in Poland. The Polish name of hortitherapy is garden therapy, i.e. a method of treatment with the use of plant gardens. Its application is very wide because it concerns a wide variety of diseases, mental disorders and disabilities. The article also deals with the pedagogical and psychological characteristics of moderate intellectual disability. Disability criteria according to the DSM-5 classification are given. The third part of the article concerns the application of the theoretical assumptions of hortiotherapy to specific therapeutic work with children with moderate intellectual disabilities. The proposed method relates to the physical, social, emotional and cognitive spheres.

The phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens: subject of discussion

The subject of this research is the phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens. The goal lies in examination of the problems of loneliness among senior citizens. The article reviews such aspects as alienation from the society, feeling useless and helpless; gives the key characteristics of loneliness – assessment of social status, type of inferiority, type of temporal perspective, models of loneliness. The types of loneliness are divided into situational, chronic, recurrent, as well as emotional and social isolation. Research methodology employs the ideas of phenomenological, systemic, and activity approaches in the context of studying the problems of loneliness among senior citizens and effective ways of their solution. The survey revealed that senior citizens quite often feel lonely, which is reflected in the distorted interaction with other people, experiencing psychological problems, difficulties in self-organization, and the need for assistance of the social workers. The author empirically proves that the developed program “Young at Heart”, through creating hobby groups, helps senior citizens to feel needed in the society, improves their psychoemotional state, and allows overcoming loneliness. The article examines the theoretical approaches towards comprehension of the problem of loneliness among senior citizens. The author formulates the original definition of the concept of “loneliness” in the context of socio-psychological aspect, determines the causes of the phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens within the framework of their interaction with society, develops a questionnaire aimed at studying the factors of socio-psychological loneliness of senior citizens, offers the ways for overcoming loneliness through active social life, such as  creation of the hobby group “Young at Heart”, which includes the three types of activity: leisure and creative-applied, health promotion,  and garden therapy. It is substantiated that maintenance of zest for living among senior citizens would be effective by creating a socially favorable, psychoemotional and health-preserving environment in the society.

Соціально-психологічна реабілітація осіб, потерпілих від надвичайних ситуацій засобами природотерапії

The article analyzes the foreign experience in the use of nature therapy as a new, effective technique for social and psychological rehabilitation of persons affected by emergency situations. The most common types of nature therapy, in particular, lisotherapy, garden therapy, urban therapy of green spaces, animal therapy (canistherapy, felinotherapy, hippotherapy, dolphin therapy, apitherapy, entomotherapy) are covered. The ways of using ecotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic (Social and therapeutic horticulture, animal-assisted interventions, green exercise, nature arts and crafts, specific ecotherapy techniques) are given.

Project Proposals for Garden Therapy Location on the Basis of Khortytsia National Academy

Ukraine, as a country located in several climatic zones, has significant potential for the development and application of garden therapy technologies both in rehabilitation work with children with disabilities and in rehabilitation work with other groups of people in need of social and physical rehabilitation. The landscape diversity of Ukraine makes it possible to invent and implement a large number of garden therapy technologies, depending on the landscape and climatic features of the region. This will facilitate the differentiation of garden therapy locations for use, based on the characteristics and needs of each individual with disability. The development and implementation of a project for the location of garden therapy are important in the development of this type of therapy.

The Effect of Healing Garden to Improve the Patients Healing: An Integrative Literature Review

Background: Healing Garden (HG) is developed as one of the therapies that do not only help in the physical recovery of the patient but also helps to restore mental, social, and spiritual health. This paper aims to determine the benefit of Healing Garden for the patients in the hospital and to produce evidence that Healing Garden relates to the positive experiences of the patients and contributes to their feeling of well-being.
 Method: The study utilized An Integrative Literature Review of Literatures through EBSCO, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. The articles searched were within 10 years, starting in 2007 until 2017 using the following terms for Boolean Search: “Healing Garden AND/OR Healing environment AND Hospital”. Systematic search related to the topic was started on January 26, 2018 to February 6, 2018.
 Results: The results of the study revealed seven themes which include 1). Nature provides positive energy for patients, 2) Healing Garden as a protected self-expression space, 3). Healing Garden has the potential to improve the quality of life for patients both physically and psychologically 4). Nature provides space to relate and socialize for patients and families, 5). Garden therapy as a bridge between the outside and spiritual world, 6) Nurses have an important role as a professional in creating a healing environment, and 7). The garden as a “Healing Garden” that should be visible, accessible, quiet, and comfortable.
 Conclusion: The report of the study gives an overview that Healing Garden therapy has the various advantage that can effectively accelerate holistic healing. It is recommended to build healing gardens such as at the workplaces, schools, public areas, and other places where people can relax and unwind.

Experiences of meaning in garden therapy in outpatient psychiatric care in Sweden. A narrative study

Background Support has been found for using garden therapy as form of intervention for clients with common mental disorders, but no consensus has been found for what contributes to perceived meaningfulness of garden therapy. Aims To investigate whether participants perceived garden therapy as meaningful, and if so, what contributed to the meaningfulness. Material and methods Narrative individual interviews were conducted twice with six participants who participated in garden therapy and once with two participants. Data was analysed using narrative methodology. Results Perceived meanings in garden therapy were associated to the participants’ individual needs and prerequisites: to land, just be, relax, go back to basics, understand, verbalise, enhance energy, and socialise. The group leaders had an important role to create safety and trust, and to adapt the activities and use of the environment. The activities, the garden environment and social group contributed to perceived meaning in garden therapy. Conclusions Garden therapy offered the participants possibilities to meet their different needs and thereby perceived meaning. To achieve this, the group leaders need to adapt the gardening individually to each participant. Significance Various components were perceived as meaningful. The group leaders therefore have to adapt the garden therapy to each participant’s needs.

Designing gardens for hortitherapy

Hortiterapia jest pojęciem o szerokim spektrum rozumienia. W tym pojęciu mieszczą się działalności związane z pracą w ogrodzie czy twórczością wykorzystującą ogrodowe elementy. W artykule skupimy się na ogrodach dedykowanym terapii chorób neurodegeneratywnych i psychicznych. Rozważania o sposobach włączenia chorych w różne aktywności ogrodowe są bogatym źródłem informacji o funkcjonowaniu ogrodów terapeutycznych jednak uwagę zwraca marginalne traktowanie aspektów związanych z projektowaniem. Metodyka postępowania w projektowaniu ogrodu dla hortiterapii wynika z połączenia zasad projektowania przestrzeni z uwzględnieniem projektowania uniwersalnego oraz celowego stosowania rozwiązań odnoszących się do konkretnych dysfunkcji. W wyniku przeprowadzonych analiz stwierdzono, że zasady projektowania dla hortiterapii nie są uniwersalne a zróżnicowanie w doborze elementów i ich form jest skorelowane z dysfunkcją. Projekt ogrodu dla hortiterapii w swej specyfice ukazuje możliwość takiej organizacji przestrzeni, aby stawała się ona miejscem szczególnym, ukierunkowanym na potrzeby chorych wynikające z ich dysfunkcji.

PROBLEMS OF FORMATION OF ECOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORK IN UKRAINE

Ecological social work is a new direction of social services and is based on increasing the level of environmental friendliness of the entire social sphere. Ecological social work has its history since the time of active discussion of the ecological model of social work. Active formation of ecological social work began in the XXI century. In Europe, the development of environmental social work was the result of the promotion of environmental movements and environmental NGOs, which were active in most Western European countries. The development of ecological social work began in the early 90s of the twentieth century with the creation of an appropriate base and was aimed at social services to citizens affected by the Chernobyl disaster. In the future, due to the permanent financial crisis, new directions of development of ecological social work in Ukraine were not mastered. Today, at the theoretical level, the possibilities of applying certain environmental techniques in the framework of social work with different groups of clients are actively discussed and explored. Ukrainian scientists have a special hope for the technology of ecological socialization of the individual at both the primary and secondary levels. A great achievement of modern ecological social work is the active use of ecological technologies of social work in the framework of social rehabilitation of children with disabilities. The most promising in this direction are animal therapy and its derivatives (hippotherapy, canistherapy, etc.) and garden therapy. The creation of infrastructure for the integrated implementation of environmental technologies of social work is a necessary component for the further development of environmental social work in Ukraine. Intensification of introduction of technologies of ecological social work is also caused by the international global initiatives. The precedents are set for the application of social technologies in various countries, and then international environmental organizations, together with the UN and the EU, disseminate successful examples of environmental social work in different countries around the world, considering them as a norm of sustainable development.

Ecopsychotherapy of mental health problems children and adolescents

Ukraine is the problem of children's mental health. Contemporary one of the most urgent health problems in Ukraine. In recent years a number of studies confirms the trend of mental pathology of growth with an increase in the number of clinical forms of psychotic register, including behavioral disorders in children. In turn, this is due to the increasing number of emergency situations (antiterrorist operations on the territory of Ukraine) for the last time. Ukraine now is an urgent need to establish a system of psychosocial rehabilitation of children with impaired mental development. International Charity Fund “Alexander Feldman Fund” in the Ecopark established the center for psychosocial rehabilitation of children and adolescents with psychological, emotional and behavioral disorders. The center created the conditions for the restoration of a bio-psycho-social harmony of the child in the conditions of modern urban-deformed medium. The aim of the center is to restore the level of social functioning and quality of life of children with ADHD, children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other neuropsychiatric disorders. The Center based on ecotherapy, also used animal therapy, garden therapy, play therapy, art therapy (studio for painting, sculpting). Individual and group work included various elements of cognitive-behavioral, rational, analytical child, relaxation, and other methods of psychotherapy.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Garden therapy

The world can be divided into two types of people. Outdoors people and Indoors people. In a similar way there are those of us who are gardeners and those who are not particularly interested in gardening or getting their hands into the soil, but who, nevertheless, like the look of a garden and will take a stroll in the outdoors on a sunny day.

Garden therapy in neurorehabilitation: well-being and skills improvement

Garden therapy in neurorehabilitation: well-being and skills improvement

Integrated Animal-Assisted and Plant-Assisted Ecotherapy for Preschool Children with Speech Disturbances: A Program for the Arctic

Abstract Background. In recent years, the number of children challenged in terms of speech development has been growing. In addition, children with speech disturbances tend to have attention disorders, low learning activity, reticence, and poorly developed play activity skills. The Ecotherapy Program. We have developed and approved an educational and rehabilitation program with correction elements entitled “Ecological Therapy for Six- or Seven-Year-Old Children with Speech Disturbances.” The program includes educational (familiarization with wildlife), rehabilitation (elements of art, work, animal and garden therapy), communication (stimulation of speech activity and social adaptation), and correction components (development of fine motor skills, finger games, tongue twisters). Control methods. Effectiveness of the program was verified using both psychological and physiological tests: Luscher color tests, psycho-geometric tests, cardiorhythmography, and blood flow velocity in the general carotid artery (u...

Design of evidence-based gardens and garden therapy for neurodisability in Scandinavia: data from 14 sites.

A total of 14 Scandinavian therapy gardens were visited and data collected on plantings, therapeutic activities and assessment of effectiveness in Spring 2014. Data were gathered by a questionnaire and by interviewing staff in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The data collection structured proforma used the post-occupation assessment method. Gardening promoted physical movement, presented cognitive challenges and provided opportunities for social participation. Half the gardens were enclosed with sensory plants and 85% were adapted for wheelchairs. A total of 57% of gardens visited had simple designs with flowers, shrubs, lawns and trees. A social center was important especially for dementia clients. Planted pots were used in 79% of gardens. The effectiveness of therapy gardens was assessed at 71% of sites.

Combining garden therapy and supported employment - a method for preparing women on long-term sick leave for working life.

Women are overrepresented among the group people suffering from long-term illness. In addition to their illness, suffering long-term sick leave leads to economical restraints as well social distress. There are gaps in our understanding of the challenges these women face. There is also lack of knowledge about how these challenges can be effectively addressed in rehabilitation. This deficiency is problematic from an ethical, justice and a caring perspective. In this study, changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among women on long-term sick leave were investigated during and after participating in a rehabilitation programme combining two validated methods, Garden Therapy and Supported Employment (SE). The study also discusses difficulties in realising research related to vulnerable under-privileged people. From a population of 329 women who had reported their interest to participate, 245 were randomised to the programme. Of these 144 accepted participation in the research project and of these 123 women accepted to answer the SF-36 questionnaire. The participants were between 21 and 62years with poor physical and mental health. They had received public financial support from <1year to >10years. The SF-36 measurement was carried out at baseline, after completion of Garden Therapy and after completion of SE. The results are based on data of respondents who participated at all the three occasions (n=52). When comparing HRQoL baseline with the following occasions, the participants' General Health (GH), Vitality (VT), Social Functioning (SF) and mental health had improved significantly. The Four Leaf Clover (FLC) programme could be an appropriate method for reducing socially induced suffering. However, to conduct intervention studies where vulnerable persons are involved, it is off vital importance to consider whether the participants have the strength to complete the intervention.

Stress rehabilitation through garden therapy: The garden as a place in the recovery from stress

In a rehabilitation programme for people with stress disorder, a garden room can be an important ingredient. Stress disorder has been the most common cause of sick leave in Sweden since the 1990s. The study is about the therapeutic role of nature in the form of a garden, as participants experienced it during the recovery process. The research subjects were on sick leave due to stress related symptoms and took part in rehabilitation at the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden in southern Sweden. The article is based on interviews with five participants who describe their experiences of garden therapy and what they perceive as essential for their recovery. The garden was associated with many positive experiences of interacting with people and greenery and perceived as a safe and useful arena in their recovery. The participants described how nature affords positive sensory experiences, physical and psychological well-being, but also how nature and the garden facilitate beneficial social interactions with other participants and caregivers. Importance was also allocated to the symbolism of nature as associated to one's own growth and the passing of time. They conceptualised the recovery process as initiated by more traditional forms of therapies but reinforced and consolidated by the access to nature and the garden rooms. In a dynamic psychological perspective on place, the study illustrates the potential role of using nature as a venue to facilitate self-regulation of physiological, psychological and social needs.