Beyond cultural heritage therapy
Human and ecological heritage, storytelling, and well-being
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12911389 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Harriet Sams (Bournemouth University, corresponding author), Vanessa Heaslip (0000-0003-2037-4002, University of Salford), Timothy Darvill (0000-0002-2887-9622, Bournemouth University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 181-197 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Time and Mind (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1751-696X • E-ISSN: 1751-6978 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1751696x.2025.2582814 |
| OpenAlex | W4416226519 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
It is widely accepted that visiting culturally humancentric heritage sites is potentially therapeutic, although how this process unfolds is still relatively under studied. Most studies reviewed see interventions through the lens of Cultural Heritage Therapy or, if human heritage is not foregrounded, ecotherapy. In this paper, these approaches are critiqued for their polarised stance, leading to a suggestion that an interdisciplinary approach could be applicable where human and ecological heritage overlap. A new ontology is suggested, that of archaeotherapy. We use a qualitative study of accounts from a sample of thirty-one participants. A hybridised methodology, where Westernised analysis tools are utilised in tandem with Indigenous Torres Straits, Māori and Australian Aboriginal perspectives on land, ancestors, and cultural belonging, to better understand participants' experiences. Ecologically enmeshed qualities of place, which include human ones, are identified as pivotal to ideas of connectedness, healing, and understanding. This study revealed a five-stage narrative process is employed by respondents, highlighting individually chosen sites as meaningful: 1) Physical site arrival, 2) Connection made, 3) Transformation point reached and passed, 4) Outcome of connectedness, understanding, or health and healing, 5) Incorporation or sense making. The five stages are transcended in specific order, over varying timescales
Cultural heritage · Cultural heritage management · Dingo · Values · World heritage · Art Therapy and Mental Health · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Place Attachment and Urban Studies
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Lived Religion
Hunter of the past
Thematic Analysis
Wik pedagogies
Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Theories of Wellbeing and Their Suitability for Wellbeing Policy
Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research
Sites of Existential Relatedness
Decolonising P acific research, building P acific research communities and developing P acific research tools
Locating oneself in the past to influence the present
Placing therapeutic landscape as theoretical development in Health & Place
Archaeology as Therapy
The Set Point Theory of Well-Being Has Serious Flaws
Top-down versus bottom-up theories of subjective well-being
| Highly cited | No |
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