The influence of therapeutic horticulture on social integration
| Date | 19 September 2016 |
| Pages | 136-140 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-12-2015-0050 |
| Published date | 19 September 2016 |
| Author | Michelle Louise Howarth,Cath McQuarrie,Neil Withnell,Emma Smith |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
The influence of therapeutic horticulture
on social integration
Michelle Louise Howarth, Cath McQuarrie, Neil Withnell and Emma Smith
Michelle Louise Howarth is a
Programme Leader MSc
Nursing, Cath McQuarrie is a
Lecturer in Mental Healthand
Neil Withnellis a Senior Lecturer
in MentalHealth all at the School
of Nursing, Midwifery,Social
Work & Social Sciences,
University of Salford,
Salford, UK.
Emma Smith is a Service
Director at the Social
Adventures, University of
Salford, Salford, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to qualitatively evaluate the impact of therapeutic horticulture
(TH) on social integration for people who have mental health problems.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative grounded theory approach captured the perceptions
about TH from people with mental health problems. Data were collected using semi-structured focus group
and interviews from a purposive sample (n ¼7) and were analysed using a constant comparative approach.
Findings –Four key themes emerged from the analysis: “a space to grow”,“seeing the person”,“learning
about each other through nature”and “connecting to nature and others”. The findings suggest that TH
enabled participants to integrate socially, engage with nature and develop confidence.
Research limitations/implications –TH is a potential approach that can help combat social isolation.
The findings from this research have implications for people working towards supporting people who are
socially excluded. However, this was a pilot study with a small sample size of seven people with mental health
problems, whilst four key themes emerged, the saturation of concepts rather than the sample size were
saturated to provide an emic perspective of the phenomena.
Practical implications –TH provides a person centred approach that enables people with mental health
problems to re-engage and connect with their fellow human beings. Using TH could hel p improve the public health
and well-being of local communities through re-connecting people to the environment and reduce socia l isolation.
Social implications –TH embody the principles of empowerment, person centeredness and can support
people with mental health problems to integrate socially.
Originality/value –There is limited evidence about the influence that TH have on mental health and social
integration. The use of TH is an area that is gathering evidence and this small study highlights the perceived
potential benefits of this approach.
Keywords Social inclusion, Well-being, Qualitative, Therapeutic horticulture, Public mental health,
Person centred
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The World Health Organisation (2001) predicted that mental health problems such as depression will
become a major strain on services by 2020. Therapeutic horticulture (TH) is a nature-based
approach that can promote well-being for people with mental health problems through using a range
of green activities such as gardening and contact with animals. Gonzalez et al. (2010) report that TH
can be used to promote health and well-being for people who are socially excluded, hence it is
acknowledged that TH can provide effective support for people with mental illness in the community
(Department of Health, 2004). TH has been promoted globally to help people engage with gardening
or other environmental activities to improve social inclusion, for example, in Nordic countries, the
government implemented a “Green Care”National Policy (Sempik et al., 2010), which uses green
therapies such as TH to reduce anxiety. The increased use of TH has generated global interest and
in 2007, the UK national charity “Mind”set out the green agenda for mental health and argued that
this should be a clinically valid treatment for mental health distress.
Received 10 December 2015
Revised 9 May 2016
Accepted 23 May 2016
PAGE136
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH
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VOL. 15 NO. 3 2016, pp. 136-140, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729 DOI 10.1108/JPMH-12-2015-0050
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