Plant Therapy and Its Benefits
As a holistic treatment center, Marriage and Family Services understands that sometimes patients need to combine different methods of therapy to overcome their mental and personal battles. Long before modern medicine was developed, people had been using holistic treatments, and its positive effects could be enhanced by combining professional care and modern therapy techniques. One of the most successful holistic treatment techniques is plant therapy, and its benefits to people undergoing treatment are well-documented. Below, our Florida family services professionals detail plant therapy and the benefits it could provide to people.
What Is Plant Therapy?
Plant therapy – or horticulture therapy – is a treatment where patients interact with plants to reduce their anxiety and feel calmer. This effect could be observed when someone contrasts the feelings they have during a bright and sunny day to when it is cold and gloomy outside. There is a deep genetic connection that human beings have with nature that makes them feel more at ease when they are interacting with it. So, people going through internal or external struggles are introduced to plants and nature to help them feel better. The goal of horticultural therapy programs is to force people outside to interact with nature and enjoy the therapeutic effects of greenery and sunshine.
What Are Some Popular Horticultural Therapy Activities?
Plant therapy can come in many forms, but the most popular is gardening. Gardening involves tending after plants and creating something that is entrenched in nature. When someone is creating something from scratch and sees it grow, he or she develops a connection with the project and allows them to channel energy away from their issues and into their project. Further, since this project is connected to nature and provides the therapeutic effects detailed above, another benefit of tending a garden is to instill a sense of responsibility in patients, which could lay the foundation for discipline that is needed after overcoming a struggle. Lastly, starting to tend a garden also gives room for patients to channel frustrations through the regular physical activities that come with gardening, like weeding, cutting bushes, and clearing any debris. This kind of physical venting could be healthy in small doses, and gardening provides the perfect opportunity for it.
Other horticultural therapy ideas also include using essential oils to treat anxiety and depression. These include:
- Jasmine
- Sandalwood
- Rose
- Vetiver
Marriage and Family Services provides a wide collection of services for people looking for therapy. Our therapists Delray Beach offer services like marriage counseling, addiction treatment, ADHD treatment, anxiety treatment, and marriage anxiety counseling, among many others. Contact one of our Delray Beach therapists or our West Palm Beach marriage counseling professionals today to learn more.