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Green shoots of recovery: the impact of a mental health ecotherapy programme
- Author:
- WILSON Neil William
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 15(2), June 2010, pp.4-14.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Ecotherapy is a term used to describe an intervention that aims to improve psychological functioning through the use of green space. Branching Out is a 12 week ecotherapy programme for clients with severe and enduring mental health problems who use mental health services within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. This paper reports on the qualitative findings from the first-year evaluation of the programme, which for each client consisted of approximately 3 hours of ecotherapy per week in outdoor woodland settings. Over the year, 110 clients attended the programme, of whom 70% completed the course. Semistructured interviews were held with 28 clients, and 2 focus groups were conducted with clinicians from the referring services, with data analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. 5 themes emerged as client outcomes: improvements to mental well-being, improvements to physical health, provision of daily structure and routine, transferable knowledge and skill acquisition, and increased social networking and social skills development. 3 service logistics themes emerged as potential explanations for the client outcomes: teambuilding and social inclusion, contrast of environments, and work and recognition. Few negative aspects of the programme were reported.
A review of ecotherapy as an adjunct form of treatment for those who use mental health services
- Authors:
- WILSON Neil William, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Mental Health, 7(3), November 2008, pp.23-35.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The concept of utilising green space to promote and maintain mental health predates the development of almost all current treatment modalities. Although the use of green space as a therapeutic tool decreased throughout the 20th century, research in this area has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. This review examines the theory and increasing evidence base behind the psychological, social and physical health benefits of viewing and interacting with green space, and considers some of the common methodological limitations within the literature. Those who use secondary and tertiary care mental health services typically experience secondary problems due to reduced levels of social and physical activity. This review argues that the holistic benefits of green space make ecotherapy particularly appropriate for such a population. The review recommends that the effects of ecotherapy on those who use secondary and tertiary mental health care services be explored as part of an effort to redress the absence in the literature of quality studies in this area for this population.