It brings together leading organisations and professionals in this field with representation from Natural England, NASP, NHSE, academics, health care professionals, Thrive, Trellis and other organisations who support the provision of social and therapeutic horticulture. The Group is currently chaired and convened by Thrive with support from Natural England.
The current work programme of the THSG includes:
- Supporting the publication of the research by Dr Carly Wood, Essex University, into barriers to commissioning STH for mental health care, in a recognised journal, and ensuring that results are disseminated through and beyond the group members when available
- Completing the work on the modelling of STH provision to the 5-levels of mental health model and creating a digital format document for dissemination - see below for information about the consultation document
- Exploring with the group members how to elevate the role of the STH sector in supporting and growing Green Social Prescribing
- Scoping and preparing a work plan for a ‘Prospectus for the STH sector’ to accelerate the scaling up of STH provision
- Supporting the involvement of group members in external networking events that build advocacy and provide tools for the group to learn and disseminate
Modelling of STH provision to the 5-levels of mental health
The Therapeutic Horticulture Stakeholder Group aims to provide much needed clarity about how gardening can be used across a range of mental health needs, to assist health and social care professionals when assessing whether a gardening activity is suitable to meet the needs of the person they are working with, and providers to identify the level of need that they are able to support.
We have produced this document for consultation and would really value your feedback on the paper and thoughts on how we can disseminate it.
We have defined 5 types of gardening for mental health and have explored how these activities can be differentiated in terms of:
- Who it is for - the mental health, support needs and recovery pathway of the individual as described by the NHS 5-level model
- Why it should be used - the desired outcomes and benefits for the individual engaging in the gardening activities
- How the individual will engage in the gardening activities
- What skills, quality assurance and evaluation processes the provider will need to have in place to achieve the desired outcomes for the individual.
Please use this feedback form so that we can easily collate responses. The consultation will close at 10am on Monday 27th November 2023.
