ABSTRACT
Horticultural therapy supports brain functioning and human well-being. This chapter informs horticultural therapy practice by exploring how the fields of interpersonal neurobiology, evolutionary brain development, neurocardiology, and ecopsychology deepen appreciation for the brain’s complexity and the central role of integration in human functioning and well-being. The human brain, emergent and underdeveloped at birth, grows within relationships and is defined as a complex system of energy and information that flows, via electrical and chemical neuron-to-neuron transmission, throughout the body. The mind is defined as the embodied regulation and processing of information from throughout the nervous system. The nervous system bridges experience within and without the body. Well-being thus arises out of the integration of information between the brain, mind, and body.
The triune brain theory proposes the brain has grown through engagement with successive emerging evolutionary imperatives. The brain’s evolution is embedded within the entire biosphere, and the biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans have a complex interdependent relationship with plants. Horticultural therapy enhances well-being through attunement with plants that convey natural life cycles. Linking concepts and theories to practice, the chapter includes program examples and guides horticultural therapists to apply this knowledge in their work.
