Commentary on the origins and early development of the therapeutic landscapes concept

A quarter of a century has gone by since I first began to develop the idea of a therapeutic landscape. Since I retired officially from academia a dozen years ago, I have carried out some research with Sarah Curtis and other British colleagues on hospital design for mental health patients using the concept of therapeutic landscape, but I have not kept up with all the literature that uses the concept. In this commentary I reflect on the theoretical origins of ‘therapeutic landscape’, its conceptual development, and my early work using it as a framework for analysing healing places. I also speculate on why the idea ‘works’, or not, for researchers and others. Perhaps this will provide some historical perspective on where the concept came from, how it developed and changed, and where it may be going.