Design of Landscapes in Support of Mental Health: Influences and Practice in Ontario‪.‬

Abstract This paper contributes to understanding the origins of designing landscapes in support of mental health by examining early influences and practice in Ontario. Connections are made with respect to the history of therapeutic landscapes, the restorative landscape movement and the contributions of early medical practitioners. The design of Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital in Toronto, created more than one hundred years ago, provides insights into the form and use of landscape for restorative and therapeutic purposes. Recent adaptive use of the Lakeshore Hospital grounds suggests a continuing link between recreational and therapeutic use of landscape in support of mental health. Conclusions focus on the relevance of restorative and therapeutic landscape history to contemporary landscape architectural practice.