Stress rehabilitation through garden therapy: A caregiver perspective on factors considered most essential to the recovery process

At the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden in Sweden, people suffering from stress-related illness are rehabilitated through garden therapy. Empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus-group interviews with the rehabilitation team. The present article is based on team members’ understandings of significant factors to the stress recovery process. On-site observations were conducted to achieve a broader comprehension of the empirical data. The article is based on the caregivers’ points of view, as they are presumed to be close to the course of events occurring in the garden therapy programme as a whole. The results reveal a generally complex picture of the rehabilitation form, but at the same time indicate three factors that are of primary importance: (1) sensory impressions, (2) self-chosen places in the garden, and (3) interactions between concrete and symbolic activities. The garden environment tends to “prepare, receive and open up” the participants before and after therapeutic elements, which is thought to be especially appropriate for this group. The results provide important knowledge about what kinds of factors contribute to relief and recovery from stress-related ill-health in the context of stress rehabilitation through garden therapy.