American Horticultural Therapy Association

American Horticultural Therapy Association
Name	American Horticultural Therapy Association
Abbreviation	AHTA
Formation	1973
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	United States
Region served	United States
Fields	Horticultural therapy

American Horticultural Therapy Association is a professional association for practitioners, researchers, educators, and advocates in horticultural therapy. Founded in the early 1970s, it connects professionals across clinical, community, academic, and veterans' settings, and interfaces with nonprofit, governmental, and healthcare institutions. The association influences training, certification, research dissemination, and public policy related to therapeutic horticulture in diverse environments.

History

The association emerged amid broader movements involving American Horticultural Society, Veterans Administration, National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Arts, and World Health Organization initiatives that highlighted therapeutic uses of gardens and plants. Early collaborations included practitioners associated with Olmsted Brothers, Julius Sterling Morton, Arnold Arboretum, Smithsonian Institution, and New York Botanical Garden, while academic allies came from Harvard University, Cornell University, University of California, Davis, Iowa State University, and University of Florida. Influential figures and institutions such as Florence Nightingale, Margaret Sanger, John Muir, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Theodore Roosevelt provided historical context for landscape and health intersections that shaped the association's founding. Federal and state partners like Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Park Service featured in early program development. International influences included contacts with Royal Horticultural Society, United Nations, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association, and Australian Horticultural Therapy Association.

Mission and Goals

The association's mission aligns with broader objectives articulated by organizations such as American Public Health Association, American Therapeutic Recreation Association, National Recreation and Park Association, American Counseling Association, and American Psychiatric Association. Goals emphasize therapeutic outcomes for populations served by partners including Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, World Health Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and educational institutions like University of Illinois, Michigan State University, and Pennsylvania State University. It aims to standardize practice similar to efforts by American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Occupational Therapy Association of Canada, and Royal College of Physicians.

Programs and Services

Programs include professional development modeled after continuing education offered by American Psychological Association, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, National Association of Social Workers, American Physical Therapy Association, and Association for Psychological Science. Training and workshops partner with botanical institutions such as New York Botanical Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden, United States Botanic Garden, Longwood Gardens, and Missouri Botanical Garden. Service programs have included therapeutic garden projects in collaboration with Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Outreach and community initiatives often involve Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and Peace Corps volunteers.

Certification and Professional Standards

The association sets credentialing frameworks comparable to standards by Board of Certification for Professional Pet Dog Trainers, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, American Counseling Association Credentialing Center, National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification, and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. It established competencies referenced by university programs at Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Minnesota, Colorado State University, and Oregon State University. Ethical and practice guidelines echo frameworks from American Psychological Association Ethics Office, National Association of Social Workers, American Medical Association, International Federation of Social Workers, and Joint Commission quality standards.

Research and Publications

The association disseminates research through journals and conferences akin to venues like Journal of Applied Gerontology, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Aging and Health, Health Promotion International, and Landscape and Urban Planning. Research collaborations have included projects with National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and academic centers at Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania. The association’s outputs intersect with literature from The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ, Nature, and Science on topics of therapeutic landscapes, rehabilitation, and mental health.

Partnerships and Advocacy

Advocacy work has engaged policymakers and stakeholders including U.S. Congress, White House Conference on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Institutes of Health, and nongovernmental actors such as American Horticultural Society, Royal Horticultural Society, World Health Organization, United Nations, and American Public Health Association. Partnerships with healthcare systems and nonprofits include Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Urban Land Institute, and Trust for Public Land. The association has advocated for funding streams similar to those secured by National Endowment for the Arts, National Institutes of Health, and Corporation for National and Community Service for therapeutic garden programs.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises practitioners, educators, students, and researchers from institutions such as Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cornell University, University of Florida, and University of California, Davis. Governance follows nonprofit models seen in American Red Cross, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, American Bar Association, and National Audubon Society with boards, committees, and bylaws paralleling those organizations. Strategic planning often references frameworks used by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Category:Horticultural therapy organizations