Nature has always had strong roots in psychiatry from the gardens of mental health hospitals to occupational therapy interventions now.
However, there are enduring inequalities in access to green space for underserved populations such as people with Severe Mental Illness with significant negative impacts on their physical health and mortality for those who live in diverse urban settings.
A recent national evaluation of the preventing and tackling mental ill health through Green Social Prescribing project commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found improvements in the well-being of a broad range of participants and a social return of £2.42 per £1 invested in the projects. However, such projects are precarious, short term and piecemeal, and often not integrated with mental healthcare services.
There is a need to ensure that those who might benefit the most from nature-based interventions are not left behind, and to integrate and embed learning from primary care across mental health care settings.
In this session, we will hear from speakers from policy, epidemiology, clinical practice and lived experience about the increasing evidence around the benefits of nature-based interventions for physical and mental health, what systems change might look like from a Welsh Health Board perspective, and how to nurture seeds of good practice from an acute inpatient ward using pre-existing resources and partnerships.
Following this session, conference delegates will have the opportunity to experience aspects of the nature-based interventions on the Green Walks as part of the fringe events organised by the Planetary Health and Sustainability Committee.
Learning objectives
In this session you will:
- Learn about the impact of green space on longitudinal outcomes of people with Severe Mental Illness in a diverse south London population
- Explore the learnings from a national report on Green Social Prescribing for mental ill health
- Learn how to translate policy into practice from a Welsh Health Board setting
- Explore how to incorporate nature into an acute mental health ward using pre-existing resources and partnerships.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Tania Bugelli, RCPsych Wales Sustainability Champion and Dr Shuo Zhang, RCPsych Planetary Health and Sustainability Committee
Dr Tania Bugelli, RCPsych Wales Sustainability Champion, Wales
Professor Christopher Dayson, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield
Dr Dionne Laporte, King's College London, London
Dr Stuart D'Arch-Smith, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, Blaenau Gwent
Availability
This webinar is part of the Congress webinar 2025 package. If you attended all four days of Congress, you will have access to these as part of your Congress package. Otherwise the Congress webinar 2025 package can be purchased below.
