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Royal Geographical Society with IBG Annual International Conference

Activity: Participating in or organising an event typesParticipation in conference - Academic

30/08/20222/09/2022

Co-convened and co-chaired a double session, sponsored by GHWRG, on Social prescribing policy and critical ‘therapeutic landscape’ theory.

‘Social prescribing’, and specifically, the referral of people to community-based activities such as allotments, walking groups, and arts classes, is increasingly viewed by UK policy makers and health and social care commissioners as a tool to help mitigate or treat common mental health problems (e.g., anxiety and depression). Indeed, over the last few years, there has been substantial government and National Health Service (NHS) investment in the development of social prescribing. In 2019, for example, the National Academy for Social Prescribing was established, and funding was provided for the recruitment and training of 1000 Social Prescribing Link Workers. Whilst in 2020, a cross-government project was announced, focusing on improving mental wellbeing via green social prescribing (NHS England, 2022). Investment in social prescribing is likely to further increase due to the socio-economic effects of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic, and the relatively low-cost of social prescribing. Underpinning the enthusiasm for social prescribing is a belief that particular spaces, and the activities undertaken within them, are good for us; that there are, in effect, intrinsically ‘therapeutic’ landscapes. Policy documents echo this belief, with the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment (2018), for example, stating that: “spending time in the natural environment – as a resident or a visitor – improves our mental health and feelings of wellbeing” (p.71).

The potential for green spaces like allotments, and community-based activities more broadly, to be good for health and wellbeing is not a new idea for geographers. Indeed, there is a large body of work cohering around Gesler’s (1992) ‘therapeutic landscape’ concept that explores how and why particular landscapes might be ‘therapeutic’. ‘Therapeutic landscapes’ research has, however, illuminated the complexity of experiences, and has challenged universalising narratives of ‘therapeutic-ness’ that are inherent in discussions around social prescribing (Bell et al., 2018).

In this session we’re inviting contributions considering the relationship between ‘therapeutic landscapes’ research and social prescribing, which might include discussion of:

• Experiences of communicating critical ‘therapeutic landscapes’ research to policy makers or health and social care practioners.
• The value of communicating with policy makers. What are the benefits and trade-offs for critical ‘therapeutic landscapes’ research?
• Insight into the experiential complexity of ‘therapeutic landscapes’ engagements and consideration of what this might mean for experiences of socially-prescribed activities.
• The importance of power and autonomy in emergent ‘therapeutic landscape’ experiences, and the implications for referral/prescription.
• Understandings of the ‘therapeutic’ of ‘therapeutic landscapes’

Event (Conference)

TitleRoyal Geographical Society with IBG Annual International Conference
Date30/08/222/09/22
LocationNewcastle University
CityNewcastle
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
Degree of recognitionInternational event