Schweitzer, Gilpin, and Frampton (2004) assert that people have probably been seeking a “safe shelter in which to heal” since the beginning of time. “When little could be done to treat the physical causes of illness or injury,” they add, “a safe, supportive environment where natural or supernatural forces could aid the recuperative process to help the patient heal was vital” (p. S71). Today, we specifically design and build spaces that induce healing and restorative effects.
Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, said that nature alone cures and that all we need to do is put our clients in the best condition for nature to act on them (Petiprin, 2016; Stichler, 2001).
- Nightingale was one of the first healthcare professionals to realize the impact of the environment on the client’s ability to heal. She developed the Environmental Theory (also known as Nightingale’s Canons) that changed nursing practice.
- She was also among the first to explore and document the healthcare professional’s role in employing nature and the environment in such a way that clients could begin their healing journey.
- Nightingale understood the connection between body and mind, and she understood the environment’s role in healing them.
- She knew that clients would recover more quickly if they were cared for in environments with natural light, fresh air, pure water, proper temperatures, environmental variety, sufficient food, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and basic sanitation.
- She even created drawings and notes that changed hospital design.
Healthcare providers have the power to create the kind of healing environment that allows clients to access their inner healer—that phenomenon of healing that transcends social, cultural, economic, time, and space barriers and promotes healing. Healthy environments (including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external environments) and sacred spaces are powerful and vitally important ways to support the inner healer and to utilize the environment to maximize its healing effects.