Therapeutic horticulture and desistance from crime
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Author | Matthew DelSesto |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12488 |
Received: 19 October 2021 Accepted: 4 March 2022
DOI: 10.1111/ho jo.12488
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Therapeutic horticulture and desistance from
crime
Matthew DelSesto
Co-ordinator and Instructor, Inside-Out
Program, Boston College Sociology
Department, USA
Correspondence
Matthew DelSesto, Co-ordinator and
Instructor, Inside-Out Program, Boston
College Sociology Department, USA.
Email: delsesma@bc.edu
Abstract
A growing number of organisations and institutions
are using sustainability and horticultural interventions
in the correctional context for their supposed healing,
rehabilitative or therapeutic benefits. This article the-
matically reviews a range of qualitative, quantitative,
case study, meta-analysis, and controlled experimental
research studies – to compare what is known about
therapeutic horticulture interventions with research on
pathwaysto desistance from crime. It finds the following
areas are both evidence-based outcomes in therapeutic
horticulture and factors that likely contribute to desis-
tance from crime: identity transformation; education
and vocational training; mental health and wellness;
social support; and spirituality and religion. Overall,
the review will be of interest to practitioners imple-
menting therapeutic horticulture in correctional or com-
munity settings, and researchers studying re-entry or
resettlement programmes, therapeutic horticulture, and
desistance.
KEYWORDS
corrections, desistance, prison horticulture, resettlement, thera-
peutic horticulture
© 2022 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
444 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hojo HowardJ. Crim. Justice. 2022;61:444–462.
THE HOWARDJOURNAL OF CRIME AND JUSTICE 445
1 INTRODUCTION
A growing number of organisations and institutions are using horticultural interventions for their
supposed healing, rehabilitative or therapeutic qualities in correctional contexts. Although some
practitioners and researchers may intuitively understand the benefits of gardening, implement-
ing horticultural programmes as an effective intervention, that might actually empower people
towards desistance and have a positive impact on communities, will require efforts to co-ordinate
research, policy and practice. Accordingly, this review overall aims to connect research on emerg-
ing horticultural practices in corrections with some possible policy implications of academic
literature on pathways to desistance from crime.
The goal of this review is twofold. First, it seeks to encourage future research and investi-
gation about the more specific connections between desistance, horticulture and sustainability
programmes more broadly – to inform policies related to therapeutic horticulture, within and
beyond correctional settings. Second, it aims to provide suggestions for practitioners who are
already implementing prison or re-entry/resettlement programmes and want to demonstrate the
relevance of therapeutic horticulture for correctionalor community settings. A better understand-
ing of what elements of horticultural activities are most likely to contribute to desistance will assist
practitioners in designing and adapting their programmes to be as effective as possible. Similarly,
policymakers, correctional agencies and other organisations will want to know the programmatic
qualities to promote in sustainability and horticultural interventions as they offer institutional
support. Overall, the article aims to review the scope of therapeutic horticulture programmes in
corrections and the potential links between therapeutic horticulture and desistance – with an eye
towards highlighting areas that might be most generative for future research or applications.
In order to do this the review proceeds in the following way. First, it defines the context of
therapeutic horticulture and reviews the research on horticultural programmes in corrections.
Based on searches for variations of horticulture in corrections (prison horticulture, therapeutic
horticulture in corrections, therapeutic horticulture and prisons, etc.), this review groups the aca-
demic literature into three main thematic categories including: environmental education; mental
health and wellness; and vocational training and green jobs skills.1Then it turns to areas of desis-
tance that might be relevant to therapeutic horticulture spaces, activities, and programmes. It
uses themes from academic research and theories on desistance (e.g., Farrall & Calverley, 2006;
Kazemian & Maruna, 2009;Laub&Sampson,2001; Rodermond et al., 2016;Weaver,2019)tomake
connections to potential areas of focus in therapeutic horticulture. Finally, it offers conclusions
for future research and practice in the field.
2 THEORIES AND APPLICATIONS OF THERAPEUTIC
HORTICULTURE
The idea that humans may benefit from connections with other forms of life has long been a
subject of scholarly research. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm (1973) is one of the earlier scholars to
use the term ‘biophilia’, which he saw as the human inclination towards a ‘passionate love of
life and all that is alive .. . the wish to further growth, whether in a person, plant, idea, or social
group’ (p.365). Biologist Edward Wilson (1984) put this idea in historical, evolutionary perspective
with his writings on biophilia, which argued that humans have a physiological and psychological
preference for seeking out connections with the rest of life. Around the time these authors were
writing, social scientists were beginning to test this theory. Particularly influential was Ulrich’s
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