Therapeutic
environments are spaces in which healing, safety, and growth are promoted by the
surroundings. In modern use, the term can refer to physical, social, or
psychological safe spaces. The concept of the therapeutic
environment is not a recent one. Since the early years of human civilization, the
role of the environment in facilitating good health has been explored in myriad
ways. The Victorians were extremely keen on therapeutic environments and
codified their uses more than any generation that came before them.
Here
are 3 therapeutic environments. Some examples are built, whilst one is natural
– or at least a reimagining of natural space.
The Beach Resort
The
Victorian period saw the integration of the therapeutic environment into modern
medical practice. Doctors regularly prescribed trips to ‘take in the sea air’
for everything from lung disease to tumors. It was thought that the open,
saline skies and cold waters encountered at the seaside could create an
ultimately healthy
environment for healing.
There
was some truth in this belief: Victorian cities were incredibly polluted.
Unrestrained burning of coal in houses and industrial areas right in the city
center would cause respiratory problems to be amplified. The clean air of a
seaside resort would provide a respite from the fumigated hellscape of the new
industrial jungle. A trip to the seaside would also be one of the only ways
that a working-class family could afford to spend more than a few hours
relaxing. Soon seaside resorts grew vast and often replicated the poor
conditions of the cities they were meant to be an antidote to.
Senior Living Communities
Every
good senior living community is in part a therapeutic environment. Older people
can develop different needs to the young for all sorts of reasons. As you grow
older, it is important to be in a safe and healing space. Good senior
communities like Brightview assisted living
in Bethesda are built around the concept of the therapeutic environment. The
designers of senior living community spaces need to incorporate logical and
reassuring architectural zones, ease of transit, and a non-medical atmosphere.
People
suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s are particularly sensitive to chaotic
environments. A therapeutic environment is essential if a senior living
community hopes to cater to elders with a wide range of needs and abilities.
The Public Park
It
is well established in urban design circles that green space can help
facilitate a healthy life. Public parks are much-loved features of city life –
but it wasn’t always this way. Apart from a few old examples, public city parks
were only established during or after the Victorian period when the concept of
the therapeutic environment was popularized. In the late Victorian period, a
more extreme concept of therapeutic city design was pioneered: the garden city.
In a garden city, each individual was allocated access to green space no matter
what their location or status was. The idea never quite caught on, but it has
heavily influenced modern urban design around the world.