Blurring boundaries: the role of hybrid green spaces in secure psychiatric care

Preprint

Hybrid Green Spaces in psychiatric intensive care units offer a transformative approach to mental healthcare environments, addressing tensions between therapeutic intent and institutional control. Drawing on our CAMHS PICU case, we demonstrate how (co)produced biodiverse outdoor spaces can actively mediate challenges across risk management, spatial production, and power dynamics. These spaces foster relationships between human and ecological wellbeing, promoting what we call Ecological Collective Flourishing. By enhancing staff wellbeing, creating moments of shared stewardship, and expanding therapeutic possibilities such interventions show that even highly controlled clinical settings can accommodate nature-based programmes safely and meaningfully. We argue that these hybrid spaces hold significant potential for broader application across psychiatric services, supporting patient-centred care goals, institutional resilience, and environmental sustainability. Our case challenges assumptions about what is possible in secure mental health settings, offering a replicable model for integrating nature-based approaches into psychiatric care without compromising safety protocols.

Authors: Wilhelm, K; Lomax, T; McCarthy, L; Boyle, JS; Menon, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Not peer reviewed
• Preprint server: OSF
• Publication date: 2025-06-06
• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/v8jt5_v1
• Server owner: Center for Open Science
• Language: English
• Keywords: nature-based programmes; therapeutic environments; spatial theory; workplace wellbeing; cultural ecosystem services