Jardin thérapeutique et démences : le dialogue comme unification des fonctions psychologiques

The originality of this article is that it presents experimentation in a therapeutic garden designed to incorporate natural and cultural regional references. Six patients with dementia were followed during their walk accompanied by a psychologist. The exchanges between patients and psychologist show that this interaction mobilizes an integrated system of psychological functions, which is governed by the communicative function. Perception, emotion, memory, language, planning, and social intelligence are all solicited by the encounter with plants and artworks, thus pointing to the supporting role of environmental design on the cognition and emotions of patients.