Affiliations: [a] Centre Paul Spillmann Unité Cognitivo Comportementale, CHRU de Nancy, Nancy, France
| [b] Centre Mémoire Ressources Recherche de Lorraine Hôpital de Brabois Allée du Morvan, CHRU de Nancy, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France
| [c] Département de Psychologie BP 33–97, Groupe de Recherche sur les Communications, Laboratoire Interpsy EA 4432, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| [d] Fescharek Sculpture and Design, Marburg Lahn, Germany
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Thérèse Rivasseau Jonveaux, Centre Paul Spillmann Unité Cognitivo Comportementale, CHRU de Nancy, 1 Rue Foller, 54 000 Nancy, France. E-mail: t.jonveaux@chru-nancy.fr.
Abstract: The creation of healing gardens for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases (ADRD) offers vast potential. They can play a role in the scaffolding of cognitive disorders, emotional stress, sensory processing, sense of harmony, and appeasement. These effects are achieved through a distributed interplay of psychological functions with the immediate environment and local culture on the one hand, and dialogue on the other. The garden, a natural canvas created by man, shares with art the ability to foster an esthetic sense for which the perception can be measured by functional neurological imaging exploration. Art represents a mediator for the collaborative realization of distributed psychological functions between different individuals. Based on the hypothesis of an optimization of the therapeutic potential of a garden by a design adapted to the neuro-psycho-social and cultural specificities of its users combined with the thoughtful introduction of an artistic dimension, the “art, memory and life” healing garden was created at the University Hospital of Nancy as a prototype for persons with ADRD. The design concept was based on two hypotheses that we formulate herein, discuss their theoretical foundation, and suggest enhanced design for therapeutic gardens based upon our experience.
