Digging for victory : horticultural therapy with veterans for post-traumatic growth / Joanna Wise.

London : Karnac Books Ltd, 2015.

xxxii, 304 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

INTRODUCTORY MATTER -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of Acronyms -- Acknowledgements -- About the author -- P personal perspective -- Horticultural therapy and the military / Anna Baker Cresswell -- Foreword / Jamie Hacker Hughes -- Preface -- Growing history...the Victoria Cross Poppy -- Introduction -- ONE. Veterans with "invisible injuries" and their needs -- Definition and numbers of veterans in the UK -- Invisible injuries -- Historical background of mental health problems in the Armed forces -- Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder -- Vulnerability to mental health disorders -- Barriers to conventional mental health services -- Veterans' mental health needs -- Veterans' needs at a group level -- Veterans' needs at an individual level -- TWO. The trauma of killing -- Our innate resistance to killing -- Neurological and psychological mechanisms that overcome resistance to killing -- Consequences of overcoming resistance to killing -- Transition: from damage to development -- THREE. How horticultural therapy meets veterans' needs -- Benefits of passive exposure to nature -- Active benefits of horticultural therapy -- Physical domain -- Cognitive domain -- Emotional domain -- Social domain -- Spiritual domain -- The "ripple effect" on dependants -- Vocational horticultural therapy -- Evaluation of research evidence --

FOUR. Structuring the horticultural therapy programme to ensure safe practice -- Safety and stabilisation for veteran survivors of trauma-- The physiology of trauma and its relevance to safe practice -- Stages of recovery and implications for horticultural therapy groups -- Stages of recovery from trauma -- Stage one: safety and stabilisation -- Stage two: remembrance and mourning -- Stage three: reconnection -- The weekly timetable -- Ground rules -- Numbers -- Risk of veteran harm to self or others -- Therapeutic timescale, efficacy, and effectiveness -- FIVE. Staff support, supervision, and training -- Recognition, feedback, support, and supervision -- Communicating the military/ civilian cultural divide -- Military protocol -- The power of language -- Military structure and the significance of boundaries -- "Need to know" -- Judgement and societal attitudes -- The "Drama Triangle" -- SIX. Referral and assessment -- Referral -- Referral pathways -- Referral paperwork -- Assessment -- Assessment paperwork -- The assessment interview -- SEVEN. Setting goals, defining outcomes -- Matching evaluation to needs, goals, and outcomes -- Standard instruments -- Client-centred evaluation -- Managing information using IT resources and equipment --

EIGHT. The horticultural programme -- Developing horticultural skills and knowledge -- Planning a twelve-month horticultural programme -- Monthly plans -- Task analysis -- Characteristics of the "actor" -- Activity analysis -- NINE. Site design features relating to veterans' needs -- Size -- Aspect -- Soil and beds -- Access -- Site facilities -- Equipment, tools, and adaptive designs -- Plants The aesthetics of good design -- 1. Genius loci -- 2. Harmony and contrast -- 3. Simplicity -- 4. Balance -- 5. Scale and proportion -- 6. Unity -- TEN. Recalibration: future directions for post-traumatic growth -- Summary -- Future directions: developing HT as a profession -- Future directions: research -- Future directions: developing HT as a treatment model -- Recalibration for post-traumatic growth -- Mindfulness in nature -- Working with metaphor -- Recalibration within the community -- Conclusions -- Appendix I. Resources -- Information and research on veterans with "invisible injuries" -- Veterans' support organisations -- Specialist horticultural therapy projects for veterans in the UK -- Safe practice -- Horticultural therapy: referral, assessment, and therapy resources -- The horticultural programme -- Site design features -- Sustainability -- Equipment, tools, and adaptive measures -- Plants -- Setting up a horticultural therapy project -- Appendix II. Social and therapeutic horticulture: more research required? An additional commentary / Joe Sempik.

Includes bibliographical references and index.