Horticulture therapy is designed as a rehabilitation intervention to assist individuals to recover
from mental illness and return to community life. This project was established in a 1.5 acre
separate land belonging to the Institute of Psychiatry in June 2003. There were 17 destitute
mentally ill people from ward 22 as participants of the project and 4 Hospital staff. With the
gradual expansion of the project, the possibility of using Horticulture as a tool to rehabilitate and
build self-esteem was tested with the participation of 342 mentally ill people. During the past 4
years of this project, 131 participants have been able to get reintegrated into the society, some of
them working as employees (accommodated within the hospital and) of other working places
located out of hospital premises. Some participants commenced living with their family members.
Likewise the project has its achievements recorded. However there was no systematic research
study conducted in the past, on effectiveness of horticulture therapy as an intervention that
supports people with mental illness to get reintegrated in to the society.
Therefore this study was planned to investigate following research questions to study effectiveness
of this project.
1. How do horticulture activities impact on in the recovery process: impact on symptoms,
functional life skills and social re-integration?
2. How do the skills and the knowledge gained through horticulture activities support people
with mental illnesses to get integrated in to the family and the community?
3. What impact does the horticulture therapy has in the process of social integration in terms
of changing the attitudes of careers, family and the community?
The research revealed the following findings in relation to above questions:
· Horticulture activities are able to improve mental well being of people with mental
illnesses as therapeutic interventions as revealed through improvements of their
involvement in daily activities, self-esteem, personal hygiene and through reduction of
symptoms.
· Horticulture therapy is also more successful in motivating people for livelihoods when it
is integrated with programs in livelihood skill development.
· In addition to therapeutic activities, opportunities for different social relationships in the
project have contributed to improve social interactive skills of people with mental
illnesses.
· Horticulture project has also contributed to change attitudes of community towards
people with mental illnesses through entrepreneurial relationships developed between
them through sales outlet at the project and managing savings accounts.
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