Horticultural therapy between plants and people

In June I became part of a treatment team facilitating horticultural therapy activity sessions for elders in long-term care at Abingdon Care and Rehabilitation Center in Green Brook. Abingdon provides a range of post-hospital and long-term transition services including surgical recovery, physical, occupational and speech therapies, stroke recovery and hospice/end-of-life care. Abingdon is part of Windsor Healthcare Communities serving Somerset, Middlesex, Union, Essex, Passaic and Bergen counties.

Horticultural therapy works by creating interactions between plants and people, typically in a garden or greenhouse. Abingdon’s horticultural activities take place twice a month in the main gathering room on the second floor. The group of 11 to 17 participants (known as elders), ranges in age from 70s to 90s, male and female, physically impaired with mild to moderate cognitive impairments.

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By Laura DePrado
Published in the Somerville Courier News 11/18/2014, Page B1