Innovations in 'therapeutic landscapes': implications for social prescribing

在我的博士学位中，我对“治疗景观”、空间（以及在其中发生的活动）的体验提供了新的见解，这些体验与有益心理健康和幸福有关。我展示了“治疗景观”的体验，例如绿地和静修，总是在变化，不一定是“治疗”。当人们确实有“治疗性”体验时，比如平静或成就感，这些体验通常与其他不那么愉快或不受欢迎的体验（比如痛苦或沮丧）并存。此外，我还展示了经验，以及经验随时间的变化，由于个人经历的不同，人与人之间差异很大；因为他们是谁，他们之前经历过什么，因为他们是如何以及为什么来到这里的。最后，通过我的研究，我证明了，不是空间本身具有“治疗性”，“治疗性”的结果是一系列不同因素（可能包括也可能不包括环境，以及其他因素，如情绪、对特定活动的欣赏或享受、其他人和谈话、家庭生活）在正确的时间以正确的方式暂时聚集在一起的结果。我之所以能够提供这种见解，是因为我开发了进行研究的方法；这种方法的目的是让我能够捕捉到关于经历的非常详细的信息，比如思想、感觉和身体运动，以及这些是如何以及为什么会随着时间的推移而发生和变化。这种方法始于我自己参与不同的“治疗景观”（步行小组、保护小组和冥想静修），并将这些经历记录下来。在此之后，我采访了我在参与过程中遇到的人，并用我自己的经历作为提示来帮助人们记住他们的经历。在我的奖学金期间，我将发表三篇学术论文，概述：-我的博士研究提供的关于“治疗景观”的复杂和多变体验的见解。-我为进行研究开发的新方法，有助于捕捉有关经历的非常详细的信息。-对体验是什么以及它是如何发生的理解，告诉了我如何研究“治疗景观”的体验。在奖学金期间，我将在会议上与其他学者分享我的研究成果，并通过研讨会介绍我开发的进行研究的新方法。我还将编写一份报告，向卫生和社会保健政策制定者和专业人员提交报告，并为他们举办一个讲习班。这些都很重要，因为我发现“治疗景观”的经历并不是所有时间或对所有人都具有“治疗性”，这背后的原因对“社会处方”的推出有影响，特别是，由医生外科或其他医疗保健提供者的工作人员推荐人们参加散步小组和唱诗班等活动，以帮助改善他们的心理健康。目前，政府在社会处方方面投入了大量资金，因此值得进一步研究。鉴于此，我将申请资助一个研究项目，该项目将借鉴我在博士研究中获得和发展的研究见解和方法，以帮助了解“社会规定”活动的体验是什么样的，以及处方行为可能对这些体验产生什么影响。

In my PhD I provided new insight into experiences of 'therapeutic landscapes', spaces (and the activities that take place within them), that are associated with being good for mental health and wellbeing. I demonstrated that experiences of 'therapeutic landscapes', for example green spaces and retreats, are always changing and are not necessarily 'therapeutic'. Where people do have 'therapeutic' experiences, such as feelings of calm or achievement, these often exist alongside other less pleasant or unwelcome experiences, like pain or frustration. Furthermore, I showed that experience, and how this changes over time, varies considerably between people because of their individual histories; because of who they are and what they've experienced before, and because of how and why they came to be there in the first place. Finally, through my research I demonstrated that rather than the spaces themselves being 'therapeutic', 'therapeutic' outcomes are a consequence of a range of different factors (which may or may not include the environment, as well as other things like mood, appreciation or enjoyment of the specific activity, other people and conversations, home life) temporarily coming together in the right way at the right time.I was able to provide this insight because of the approach I developed to conduct the research; an approach that was designed to enable me to capture highly detailed information about experiences, such as thoughts, feelings, and bodily movements, and how and why these happen and change over time. This approach began with my own participation in different 'therapeutic landcapes' (walking groups, conservation groups, and meditation retreats) and the keeping of diaries of these experiences. Following this, I interviewed people I had met through my participation, and used my own experiences as prompts to help people remember theirs.In my fellowship I will publish three academic papers outlining:- The insight provided by my PhD research into how complicated and changeable experiences of 'therapeutic landscapes' are.- The new approach I developed for conducting research that helps to capture highly detailed information about experiences.- The understanding of what experience is and how it happens that informed how I studied experiences of 'therapeutic landscapes'.During the fellowship I will share the findings of my research with other academics at conferences, and through a workshop at which I will introduce the new approach to conducting research that I developed.I will also produce a report, present to, and hold a workshop for, health and social care policy makers and professionals. These are important as my finding that experiences of 'therapeutic landscapes' are not 'therapeutic' all of the time or for all people, and the reasons behind this, has implications for the roll out of 'social prescribing', and specificially, the referral of people on to activities like walking groups and choirs to help improve their mental health, by a member of staff at a doctor's surgery or other healthcare provider. Social prescribing is currently being heavily invested in by the government, and consequently warrants further study. In light of this, I will apply for funding for a research project that draws upon the insights and approach to research gained and developed in my PhD research, to help understand what experiences of 'socially-prescribed' activities are like, and what impact the act of prescription might have on these.