Stress and psychological distress are significant, widespread, and well-documented health issues. Psychological distress is a normal form of response to stressful life events. Its regulation is also a human adaptive quality that can be compromised when illness, environment, and social relationships are inadequate.
A vegetated space is recognized as a primary regulator of stress in humans because it contributes to their existential structure as a vital dynamic process.
At Pasteur Hospital, the doctor in charge of the Psychiatry department (75 beds) and the entire healthcare team have chosen to improve patient and family care by introducing horticultural therapy at the Nice University Hospital.
This non-medicated method uses plants as a work medium. It aims to improve the quality of life and clinical outcomes while diversifying therapeutic means, particularly in psychotherapy and occupational therapy.
It is recognized internationally and has been developing in France for about ten years.
Thus, the redevelopment of the enclosed garden of the former cloister of the Saint Pons Abbey (710 mยฒ) has been completed. It now features various Mediterranean plants that stimulate the senses and mark the seasons, some poetic objects, and a shared gardening area conducive to horticultural therapy workshops.
