ENHANCING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLNESS WITH HORTICULTURAL THERAPY

Introduction

Plants and trees are everywhere around us. They are an important part of every community. We found trees in every street, backyards and parks which create a more pleasing, pleasant and peaceful environment. Since the beginning, trees have outfitted us with two of life’s fundamentals, food and oxygen. Also, they provide us additional necessities such as shelter, medicine and tools. Not only limited to that, trees improve air quality, conserve water, preserve soil and support wildlife.

Horticultural therapy

Plants and trees soothe the mind. Their cultivation has therapeutic effects, so-called horticultural therapy. Horticultural therapy, a time-proven professional practice help mentally retarded and physically disabled people in building confidence and self-esteem. This practice is being designed to have positive health outcomes on individuals by purposefully involving plants and gardens in therapeutic and rehabilitative activities.
The practice may be active such as potting up plants or passive involvement of the individual by viewing the garden with singing birds through an open window. The main focus is to engage all the senses (Multisensory experience).

History and evolution of horticultural therapy

Recognition of the therapeutic effects of plants and horticulture dates back to 2000 BC. Monastic gardens were used for growing medicinal plants during the middle ages. They also served as places where the sick dwelt and recuperated. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, hospitals adopted a method of healing by exposing patients to gardens that served well as a soothing distraction from illness. The US government established veterans’ hospitals to care for wounded, returned servicemen during the 1940s. Servicemen who worked with plants in these hospital gardens showed remarkable improvements in their emotional, mental, and physical health. As a result, in the early 1970s, the United States organized its first formal training programs in horticultural therapy. From then onwards the use of horticultural therapy increased.

Horticultural therapist

Horticultural therapists are trained professionals with expertise in plant science, human science, and horticultural therapy and possess experience in the application of horticultural therapy practice. Horticultural therapists facilitate mentally retarded as well as physically disabled children and adults, the opportunity to work with a variety of plants and thus promoting independence, motor skills, and psychological well being. These trained individuals can be selected for work in gardens or parks, thereby providing them with a job opportunity and a source of income. Various programs and activities of horticultural therapy offer older adults physical, emotional, social, spiritual and cognitive benefits.

Horticultural therapists facilitate this therapy in hospitals, psychiatric care facilities, residential care facilities, rehabilitation centers, prisons and special education programs. The process itself is considered the therapeutic activity, rather than the result. According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association’s (2015) practice standards, the therapist should
• Conduct an assessment of the individual that acknowledges their abilities and limitations
• Develop an individualized intervention plan
• Develop observable, measurable, behavioral goals (with the client)
• Document progress and
• Review the intervention plan if necessary

Types of gardens and outcomes

Relaxation and relief from stress, reduction in pain perception, improved mood, modulation of agitation, enhanced social interaction, improved self-esteem and enhanced physical well-being were the positive benefits of horticultural therapy in older adults as per recent studies. Life of dementia patients can be enhanced in terms of quality through indoor gardening, which improves sleep and cognitive activities. Exposure to the sight and smell of the plants can stimulate memory. Outdoor gardens can provide a means to get fresh air, sunshine and exercise that plays a vital role in regulating circadian rhythm.

Conclusion

Horticultural therapy may be a cost-effective treatment modality to manage agitation of a dementia patient, support cognitive, affective, psychomotor and psychosocial functioning of older adults and serve as a means to train and provide job opportunities for physically challenged in various outlets of horticulture. Also, the plants and trees improve the mental and physical health of all the individuals through the practice of indoor and outdoor gardening activities in their dwelling place enhancing the quality of life.

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