Designing Therapeutic Environments : Social and Cultural Practice for Health and Well-being

This book draws on the relationship between culture and the environment and its connection with health and well-being. Therapeutic environments are settings that comprise the physical, ecological, psychological, spiritual and social environments associated with treatment and healing. Throughout the chapters, the understanding of therapeutic environments is broadened through the exploration of specific Indigenous cultural and social dimensions. Case studies comprise a combination of research papers regarding the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of therapeutic environments and their application following traditional methods. This book contributes to the expanding body of knowledge focusing on the role of therapeutic environments and their role in shaping health and well-being through the development of new research methods.

This book is essential for practitioners, scholars and students in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, planning, geography, building science, public health and environmental engineering.

Bruno Marques is the associate dean (academic development) and associate professor in landscape architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation. He is also the president of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Jacqueline McIntosh is a senior lecturer in architecture and building science at the Wellington School of Architecture of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and the former director of properties and facilities for Canadian Airlines International.