Our Programs
Therapeutic Horticulture Workshops
This is how we reach the community. This is how we fulfill our mission.
Therapeutic Horticulture is the practice of using plants, gardens, and the natural world as tools for healing — care that happens through your hands, your breath, your senses, not a waiting room. Rooted in clinical, trauma-informed practice, it works with the nervous system itself, helping people find calm, connection, and resilience through the simple, ancient act of growing something.
Our Therapeutic Horticulture Workshops are the outreach arm of The Planted Brain — the primary way we bring this care directly to the people who need it most, wherever they already are.
You don’t need to belong to an organization. You don’t need insurance. You don’t need a mental health diagnosis, a referral, or any gardening experience at all. If you’re a person navigating stress, grief, burnout, disaster, housing instability, or just the weight of daily life, our workshops are for you.
Because these workshops are funded in large part by donations, we’re able to offer them free or at very low cost — removing the financial and clinical barriers that keep so many people from accessing care.
How We Bring Workshops to the Community
Open Community Workshops — one-time or occasional workshops hosted in partnership with a host site (a garden, church, community center, or public space), open to anyone in that community. Perfect for wellness days, community events, or someone’s first experience with therapeutic horticulture.
Organizational Partnerships — multi-week series or ongoing programming built with and for a specific population, delivered in partnership with an organization already serving that community, like our work with Jericho Road of Pasadena bringing “Healing Together After the Fires” to wildfire survivors and nonprofit staff. These partnerships let us go deeper with a group over time, tailored to what they’ve been through.
All sessions are facilitated by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with advanced training in Therapeutic Horticulture, and grounded in trauma-informed, evidence-informed practice.
Program Formats
One-Time Workshops – Perfect for community events, wellness days, or introductory experiences; no commitment, no barrier to entry.
Multi-Week Series – Designed for deeper relationship building, skill development, and emotional growth over time.
Looking for something more structured and ongoing? Our Community Support Groups are closed, trauma-informed groups built around shared experiences like grief, disaster recovery, and major life transitions.
Populations We Serve
Our workshops are a low-barrier way in — no diagnosis, referral, or ongoing commitment required. We’ve brought them to:
- Community events and wellness days
- Staff and provider teams facing burnout or compassion fatigue
- Wildfire and disaster-affected communities
- Individuals experiencing homelessness
- Recovery communities
- Anyone looking for an accessible first step toward caring for their mental health
Support a Workshop — your donation directly funds free and low-cost programming for community members who couldn’t otherwise access it.