title: From Blue to Green: The Development and Implementation of a Therapeutic Horticulture Program for Residents of a Battered Women's Shelter.
abstract: The delivery of therapeutic services to clients is influenced by service providers' understanding of the "fit" of a specific program with their service mandate as well as their perceptions of the potential benefits of the program. This article discusses the development and implementation of a therapeutic horticulture (TH) program at a battered women's shelter that serves 17 counties in Central Kentucky. Through semistructured interviews, we gauge the shelter staff's perceptions of the relationship of the TH program to the shelter's overall mission; their sense of the program's benefits for residents, for the shelter as a community organization, and for themselves; and their concerns about the TH program. We consider how these findings may impact future programming at the shelter, and we discuss plans for further evaluation of the TH program in terms of its impact on shelter residents' long-term outcomes.
authors.forename: Claire M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Renzetti
authors.forename: Diane R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Follingstad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058611:Horticultural Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012759:Sheltered Workshops / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012944:Social Support; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055815:Young Adult