Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This is the first course of a 6 course, 14 credit sequence in therapeutic horticulture required by the Therapeutic Horticulture Activity Specialist Certificate of Completion and accreditation with the American Horticultural Therapy Association.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Apply basic therapeutic horticulture and horticultural therapy skills within an interdisciplinary team in a healthcare or human services setting serving diverse populations.

• Research the benefits of interventions and intervention strategies appropriate for vocational, social/recreational, wellness, and therapeutic programs.

• Develop seasonal program planning and therapeutic treatments to meet cognitive, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual goals of the client.
• Research and identify resources for continuing professional development.

• Learn foundational goals regarding the therapeutic horticulture profession
• Acquire basic knowledge of terminology and concepts used in therapeutic horticulture programming
• Acquire a broad overview of potential uses and impact of therapeutic horticulture

Course is class web including lecture and lab. Courses are on campus and sometimes off campus to enrich the learning experience. Classes could include contact with some therapeutic horticulture programs and therapeutic gardens. It will include a combination of reading, lecture, discussion, and observation of programs and gardens.

Students will demonstrate they have met the learning outcomes through various means, including written and oral examination, notebooks, research reports, and intervention and program designs.

Course content includes the following themes, concepts, issues and skills:
1. Therapeutic horticulture and horticultural therapy.
2. The history and development of the profession.
3. The professional services provided by AHTA and the requirements for registration as a Horticultural Therapist (AHTA).
4. An Introduction to the professional Code of Ethics.
5. Physical, cognitive, and psychosocial benefits of horticulture in therapeutic interventions for special populations and wellness activity for the general public.
6. Research studies related to the benefits of therapeutic horticulture, nature and/or gardens.
7. Program models for vocational, social/recreational, wellness and therapeutic applications.
8. Roles of interdisciplinary team members in healthcare/human service delivery and their responsibility in the success of the team and clients.
9. Resources for continuing professional development.
10. Competency in selected medical terminology and therapeutic horticulture vocabulary and concept applications.
11. Horticulture skills in therapeutic applications related to meet cognitive, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual client goals.
12. Programming planning for the current season.
13. Identification of at least 20 plants and therapeutic application for the current season.