Gardens of Historic Mental Health Hospitals and Their Potential Use for Green Therapy Purposes

Anna Staniewska ()
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Anna Staniewska: Chair of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Poland

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: Gardens of historic psychiatric institutions represent a special type of heritage garden that possess both aesthetic and therapeutic purposes. Their existence and current state are affected by changes in the organisation of mental treatment. The article focuses on the possible use of these gardens as places of modern green therapies carried out in, and connected with, nature. Taking into account the state of the art on the beneficial influence of nature on human health and well-being, the paper provides an overview of historic and modern nature-based activities considered therapeutic. Subsequently, three case studies of contemporary psychiatric facilities operating in historic mental hospital sites are examined. Many activities linked to nature exercised historically in those gardens bear similarities to a contemporary spectrum of ecotherapies. An analysis of historic and contemporary plans of the sites and gardens and a description of the therapeutic activities carried out in nature are provided. Results prove that their potential is promising, but not yet used to its full extent because of organisation and financing within the context of health care systems. Using those gardens for the spectrum of green therapies may bring benefits for patients and the historic substance alike.

Keywords: historic psychiatric hospitals; therapeutic landscape; green therapy; horticulture therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:10:p:1618-:d:921426

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