Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen

dependability of the whole experience. This is clearly relevant in the way
that people in groups who are working in horticultural or other green care
settings form relationships. These relationships are ‘beyond the verbal’, and
are sometimes made up of a network, or matrix, of people who do not even
share a common language. This is particularly vividly illustrated by Sonja
Linden and Jenny Grut’s work in London with refugees (Linden and Grut,
2003).
The relevance of these factors to different forms of green care form a
spectrum. As described, they can be the primary therapeutic instrument
in settings such as Linden and Grut’s. In other situations, such as green
exercise, or individual experience of wilderness, they are not relevant.
However, where they are likely to come into play – such as any situation
in which people regularly come together for purposeful activities and form
some sort of emotional bond – their relevance should be considered.
References
Foulkes, S. H. (1964) Therapeutic Group Analysis. London: Allen & Unwin.
Haigh, R. (1999) The quintessence of a therapeutic environment. In P. Campling and R. Haigh (eds.)
Therapeutic Communities: Past, Present and Future, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Linden, S. and Grut, J. (2003) The Healing Fields: Working with Psychotherapy and Nature to Rebuild
Shattered Lives. London: Frances Lincoln.
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