Design strategy of integrating intangible cultural heritage into healing landscape and exploration of rehabilitation environment construction for mental illness

Abstract Background Recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from mental disorders. Traditional treatments primarily rely on pharmacological interventions and psychological therapies, which, while alleviating symptoms to some extent, remain limited by issues such as drug side effects and social impact. Consequently, research on non-pharmacological interventions has become a focal point in contemporary society. Therapeutic landscapes, grounded in the interaction between environment and health, can facilitate mental health rehabilitation through physical space design. This study integrates intangible cultural heritage (ICH) that carries collective memory and emotions into therapeutic landscapes. By comparing the results of one-month normal treatment with therapeutic landscape intervention in experimental and control groups, the study aims to effectively awaken patients’ deep emotional memories and resonance, thereby providing a comfortable rehabilitation space for individuals with mental disorders. Methods The study recruited 40 participants aged 24 to 55 years from mental health centers and rehabilitation institutions, who were randomly divided into four groups (Experimental Group A, Experimental Group B, Control Group A, and Control Group B). The intervention involved therapeutic landscape therapy incorporating intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The two experimental groups received one month of intervention in addition to routine care, with three weekly sessions of 60 minutes each, while the two control groups received routine care. Psychological assessments were conducted using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, with intra-group comparisons performed using paired t-tests and inter-group comparisons using independent samples t-tests, with a significance level of p.05. Results The changes in various indicators before and after the two intervention groups are shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, after the intervention, the SAS scores in experimental groups A and B significantly decreased from 42.78 ± 4.76 and 48.91 ± 5.43 to 31.56 ± 5.12 and 35.64 ± 5.61, respectively (p.001). Additionally, the PHQ-9 scores in experimental groups A and B also significantly decreased from 59.24 ± 5.89 and 55.43 ± 5.76 to 48.35 ± 6.24 and 3.98 ± 5.99, respectively (p.001), with a greater reduction compared to the control group. Discussion The study demonstrates that integrating intangible cultural heritage (ICH) into therapeutic landscape design can significantly improve emotional states in individuals with mental disorders and promote their psychological recovery. The practical significance of this research lies in providing reliable design concepts and empirical evidence for public health and rehabilitation institutions, thereby enhancing rehabilitation experiences. It is anticipated that future industry efforts will explore the integration of ICH with digital algorithms to enhance patient immersion and establish a more comprehensive therapeutic system. Funding No. 2024AH051544; No. 2024AH051546.