The main objective of this study was to investigate the possible design of a Horticultural therapy program in Swedish correctional treatment facilities. In the USA the use of Horticultural therapy in offender rehabilitation is much more frequent compared with Sweden. The aim of these programs typically contains education for inmates. Research has been made indicating that these programs can have positive effects on psychosocial behavior and on vulnerability to substance abuse among incarcerated offenders. In this study the examples of these programs was categorized and analyzed from three perspectives; Vocational, social and therapeutic horticultural programs.

The aim of the study was to explore the methods used in Horticultural therapy gardens in rehabilitating people suffering from fatigue syndrome. Nine Horticultural therapy gardens were contacted of wich three chose to participate. Using case study as method e-mail interviews was carried out with the participants about their establishment and what kind of theories they based their methods upon. The material collected from the interviews was complemented with additional data from the establishments web pages and information pamphlets. Collected data was processed trough content analysis and then formed as background for the development of a program theory for Horticultural therapy.

The aim of the study was to explore the methods used in Horticultural therapy gardens in rehabilitating people suffering from fatigue syndrome. Nine Horticultural therapy gardens were contacted of wich three chose to participate. Using case study as method e-mail interviews was carried out with the participants about their establishment and what kind of theories they based their methods upon. The material collected from the interviews was complemented with additional data from the establishments web pages and information pamphlets. Collected data was processed trough content analysis and then formed as background for the development of a program theory for Horticultural therapy.

This master thesis covers the design of a special garden room, The Hardscape Room, in The Rehabilitation Gardens at Alnarp, in southern Sweden, as well as describes the design process. The Rehabilitation Gardens are intended to serve several purposes. It will offer horticultural therapeutic treatment programs for people diagnosed as having had burnout disease for an extended period. Research is also aimed at studying the possible impact of different garden design hypotheses as well as different forms of Horticultural therapy. In The Rehabilitation Gardens at Alnarp the most extreme and demanding garden room focused on cultivation and Horticultural therapy is The Hardscape Room.

This study of literature from the period 1920-1955 has shown that the profession of gardeners in Sweden went through several structural changes in the early and midst 20th century. The gardeners knowledge, which used to cover the whole horticultural spectra, was due to that no longer appreciated or useful. Prior the 1920?s the gardeners, especially the skilled craftsmen working for the upper-classes, were the ones who led progression in the horticultural field forward and their qualifications were many and diverse. Due to many factors, such as low economic and social status, functionalistic style and the fact that the branch were rationalized and modernized in general, lead up to a point where the gardener of old no longer fitted in, in the much more globalized and modern world of the 1950?s. .

At two nursing homes for people with dementia a qualitative study was performed. The purpose was to investigate the therapy dog?s meaning to people with dementia from their perspective. Two women and five men with dementia were interviewed, everyone being somewhere between 60 and 87 years of age. All but one had previously owned a dog at some point in their lives.

Today therapy dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) service people more than ever and different categories of work places use therapy dogs to help their caretakers. Many studies have been made on the positive effects in patients when they are given contact with a dog, but very little have been done on how the dog experience its situation and what kind of behaviour a therapy dog shows during its working days. This work was made to investigate the behaviours that educated therapy dogs in Sweden showed when they were in contact with a caretaker and to find out if the dogs showed any signs of stress or some other kind of discomfort. To do this a survey was sent out to 17 educated therapy dog handlers in Sweden that together had 18 educated therapy dogs. The survey contained 39 questions about the daily work of the therapy dogs when they were together with caretakers and some questions about the therapy dogs spare time. A question about what kind of dog breed the therapy dog handlers had were also in the survey to investigate if some breeds were more usual as therapy dogs.

Syftet med vår studie var att studera trädgårdsterapins roll i människors tillfrisknande från stressrelaterad ohälsa. Studiens frågeställningar var: (1) vilka faktorer beskrivs som stressreducerande i natur och trädgård? (2) på vilket sätt kan personer med stressrelaterad ohälsa bli hjälpta genom trädgårdsterapi? För att besvara våra frågeställningar användes en kvalitativ metod med hjälp av en kunskapsöversikt. Våra analysverktyg har varit KASAM och Coping.Slutsatsen av studien är att trädgård och natur kan stärka återhämtningsprocessen för människor med stressrelaterad ohälsa. Trädgård och natur kan bidra med stressreducerande faktorer som gör att återhämtningen påskyndas och stärks, såsom att hitta lugn, känna trygghet och få utrymme för reflektion.

The aim of the study was to illustrate how music therapy can be used in the care of patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic illness.The method used was a literature review. Scientific articles were searched in PubMed, Cinahl, PsycINFO och Scopus databases with an outcome of ten articles, with in total 330 participants, that underwent quality and outcomes analysis.The results showed that music therapy could provide potential improvement in the patients' social functions and that it could also improve negative, some positive and general schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms in some patients. The form of music therapy used was often creative music activities with music therapist, with or without structure, or individually customized. The length of treatment varied widely. It was not possible to draw conclusions about which type of music therapy was best.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka arbetsterapeuters erfarenhet av trädgårdsrehabilitering. En kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats valdes för att besvara syftet. Data samlades in via semistrukturerade intervjuer, med intervjuguide som stöd. Insamlad data analyserades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys, vilken resulterade i tre kategorier. Resultatet visade att trädgårdens olika värden är inflytelserika faktorer för människors egen läkepotential, via deltagande i meningsfulla aktiviteter på olika nivåer i trädgården.

Animal-assisted therapy had its large breakthrough in the 1960-ties when a psychiatrist named Boris Levinson discovered the great advantages of involving animals in the treatment of patients. Therapy with animals involves that animals are used in a systematic way, in a person's process of treatment. The most distinguished companion animal used within this area is the dog, but horses, cats, rabbits, birds, dolphins and the most common farm animals are used in animal-assisted therapy. Most animals that are to be used for this specific purpose need to be trained in order to maintain their physical and mental health, but also to minimize the risks for the people that are involved. Most studies within this research area are focused on the positive effects on the patients and less on the effects on the animals.

Historically, the horse has in many ways been important to human beings. Today, Equine Assisted Therapy is a form of treatment in which the horse is used as a tool from the treatment of the client. Supported Equine therapy has a therapeutic purpose and may vary depending on the patient's needs and the professionals work competence. Various studies show that animals have a positive impact on people. The aim of our study was to explore how Equine Assisted Therapy is used within the practical fields of social work in Sweden.

Aim: The aim is to create a review that examines different forms of massage therapy and their effects on hypertension.Method: Literature review of 10 scientific articles on the subject of massage and its effects on blood pressure. The literature searches were made with PubMed and Cinahl using the keywords "massage therapy", "effects" and "blood pressure".Results: The articles showed that massage had a positive effect in lowering blood pressure. This could be explained by greater extent of relaxation in the participants investigated and an increased activity of parasympaticus and reduced secretion of stress hormones. The articles do not agree on what form of massage therapy is most effective in lowering blood pressure and it is uncertain for how long the effect can remain.Conclusion: Massage is usually seen as a treatment without scientific basis. There is evidence that suggests that massage therapy is an effective treatment for lowering blood pressure.

The study examines the meaning of having a dog in the workplace of personnel who work with therapy. The purpose was to examine the personnel?s view of dogs in their work envi-ronment. The study uses two theories. One is ?psychosocial work environment? and the other theory used is ?symbolic interactionism?.

AimThe aim of the present study was to study possible evidence for shock wave therapy on pain and function in patients with plantar fasciitis.Questions1. Does shock wave therapy reduce pain in patients with plantar fasciitis?2. Does shock wave therapy improve function in patients with plantar fasciitis?MethodA systematic review of the literature was performed in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Cinahl.