The role of hybrid green spaces in secure psychiatric care

Conference item : Poster

Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) often prioritise safety over therapeutic design, limiting nature contact despite its mental health and wellbeing benefits.

In response, we present a micro-case from the Warneford Hospital PICU (Oxford, UK), where staff co-designed a bio-diverse garden within safety protocols, addressing three questions:

• How can secure units integrate biodiverse green spaces?
• How do such spaces expand therapeutic potential?
• How do they reshape staff–patient relationships?

We explore how hybrid green spaces can reconcile safety and care, offering a model for more integrated, ecologically grounded psychiatric environments.

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

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
• Place of publication: Oxford
• Publication date: 2025-04-22
• Event title: Oxford Department of Psychiatry Away Day 2025
• Event start date: 2025-04-22
• Event end date: 2025-04-22
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-54zgyqgee
• Language: English
• Keywords: psychiatric intensive care; workplace wellbeing; nature-based programmes; therapeutic environments
• Subtype: Poster