Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Landscape Architecture
Department
Landscape Architecture
First Advisor
Prof. Letora Anderson
Second Advisor
Dr. Austin Allen
Third Advisor
Dr. Diane Jones Allen
Abstract
Therapeutic gardens have numerous benefits, including pain reduction, improved attention, stress reduction, and medical reduction (Urban et al.,2018). Green spaces have been shown to improve the physical, mental, social, and emotional health and well-being of those staying in healthcare facilities (Urban et al.; Greening,2022). Since the 1980s, research studies have discussed the therapeutic benefits of landscape design at healthcare facilities and the importance of sustainable practices in high-performance landscape design. Many successful and expensive landscape projects have been designed and constructed on hospital sites using healing gardens or sustainable strategies (Kaplan et al. S., 1989). However, researchers suggest additional empirical studies are necessary to explore therapeutic gardens or healing advantages within healthcare facilities (Cooper Marcus,1995).
The Design thesis addresses therapeutic design principles for gardens used by people with schizophrenia. It explores how these garden experiences and their design elements improve the psychological well-being of this population at a rehabilitation center in North Texas. The study also investigates how these design elements in the therapeutic garden positively impact individuals with schizophrenia. Ultimately, the study aims to summarize design guidelines for therapeutic gardens and how individuals with schizophrenia respond to perception such as sound, smell, sense, and simulation, which provides an example of adaptive use design in a North Texas landscape.
The Qualitative methodology includes a literature review, user survey, and expert interviews. The user survey participants are those who have visited therapeutic gardens earlier or worked in a rehabilitation center or any setting related to individuals with schizophrenia. The expert interviews include professional experts, such as healthcare facility caretakers. All the collected data is further synthesized to develop the design using guidelines and design elements from the literature and empirical data. The design is then tested through photo-elicitation, where a researcher provides a series of concept sketches to make final design recommendations.
Keywords
Mental health, Therapeutic Garden, Horticultural therapy, Planting Design, Psychotic, Rehabilitation
Disciplines
Disability Studies | Mental Disorders | Psychiatric and Mental Health
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Paspuneti, Jeevita Sai, "UNVEILING THE THERAPEUTIC GARDEN EXPERIENCE FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AT A REHABILITATION IN NORTH TEXAS" (2024). Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses. 238.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/landscapearch_theses/238
Included in
Disability Studies Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons