The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity". The scheme has raised over £67 million since it began, and normally opens over 3,500 gardens a year.
Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program." It is also a vocation, involving a deep commitment to music and the desire to use it as a medium to help others. Although music therapy has only been established as a profession relatively recently, the connection between music and therapy is not new.
A veteran is a person who has significant experience and expertise in an occupation or field.
Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession that involves the use of assessment, intervention, consultation, and coaching to develop, recover, or maintain meaningful occupations of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of OT consists of health care practitioners trained and educated to support mental health and physical performance. Occupational therapists specialize in teaching, educating, and supporting participation in activities that occupy an individual's time. It is an independent health profession sometimes categorized as an allied health profession and consists of occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). OTs and OTAs have different roles, with OTs licensed to complete comprehensive occupational therapy evaluations. Both professionals work with people who want to improve their ability to participate in meaningful occupations.
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is a "state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community". It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health includes subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others.
Adventure therapy is a form of psychotherapy created as early as the 1960s. It is influenced by a variety of learning and psychological theories. Experiential education is the underlying philosophy.
The Retreat, commonly known as the York Retreat, is a place in England for the treatment of people with mental health needs. Located in Lamel Hill in York, it operates as a not for profit charitable organisation.
Horticultural therapy involves using gardening activities to promote human healing and rehabilitation.
The mental environment refers to the sum of all societal influences upon mental health.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Studies have documented some positive effects of the therapy on subjective self-rating scales and on objective physiological measures such as blood pressure and hormone levels.
Urban horticulture is the science and study of the growing plants in an urban environment. It focuses on the functional use of horticulture so as to maintain and improve the surrounding urban area. Urban horticulture has seen an increase in attention with the global trend of urbanization and works to study the harvest, aesthetic, architectural, recreational and psychological purposes and effects of plants in urban environments.
Military psychology is a specialization within psychology that applies psychological science to promote the readiness of military members, organizations, and operations. Military psychologists provide support to the military in many ways, including through direct clinical care, consultation to military commanders, teaching others and supporting military training; and through research relevant to military operations and personnel.
Help for Heroes is a British charity which supports members of the British Armed Forces community with their physical and mental health, as well as their financial, social and welfare needs. The charity was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry after they visited soldiers at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. The charity now supports all veterans, serving personnel, those who have served alongside the UK military, and their families.
Green exercise refers to physical exercise undertaken in natural environments. Physical exercise is well known to provide physical and psychological health benefits. There is also good evidence that viewing, being in, and interacting with natural environments has positive effects, reducing stress and increasing the ability to cope with stress, reducing mental fatigue and improving concentration and cognitive function. The concept of green exercise has therefore grown out of well-established areas such as the attention restoration theory within environmental psychology which have tended to focus on the psychological and physical effects of viewing nature and well-recognised work about the psychological benefits of physical exercise.
A therapeutic garden or wellness garden is an outdoor garden space that has been specifically designed to meet the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the people using the garden as well as their caregivers, family members and friends.
Combat Stress is a registered charity in the United Kingdom offering therapeutic and clinical community and residential treatment to former members of the British Armed Forces who are suffering from a range of mental health conditions; including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Combat Stress makes available treatment for all Veterans who are suffering with mental illness free of charge.
Cinema therapy or movie therapy is a form of expressive therapy – like art, music and dance therapy – for medical and mental health issues. It is also used as a form of self-help.
Erskine Veterans Charity is a veterans care and support non-profit organisation headquartered in Erskine, Renfrewshire, but operating across the Central Belt of Scotland. It provides a range of services to British Armed Forces, veterans of all ages and their families, who live in Scotland. It is most renowned for long-term nursing, respite, dementia and end-of-life medical care. It supports veterans through care homes and a Veterans Village, comprising 44 cottages, a community activity centre, five assisted living apartments and 24 "Transition Support" apartments for service-leavers and working-age veterans. The charity first established itself as Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers. It was created through Scotland's compassionate response to her sons returning physically and mentally shattered by the horrors of trench and naval warfare in the First World War. Its name was then shortened to Erskine Hospital and then simply "Erskine" in later years. The charity has gone on to offer help to British veterans of every subsequent war and become the biggest veterans facility in the country.
Nature therapy, sometimes referred to as ecotherapy, forest therapy, forest bathing, grounding, earthing, Shinrin-Yoku or Sami Lok, is a practice that describes a broad group of techniques or treatments using nature to improve mental or physical health. Spending time in nature has various physiological benefits such as relaxation and stress reduction. Additionally, it can enhance cardiovascular health and reduce risks of high blood pressure.
Glen Art is a Scottish charity helping those from a military background return to civilian life. Their projects and artistic events aim to bring people together and strengthen relationships between ex-service personnel and their communities. Their facility at Erskine provides both dogs and training for veterans and their families.
