Therapeutic Horticulture Practitioner (THP)

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Work Experience Requirement

All applicants are required to have documented 500 hours of work experience in therapeutic horticulture.  Work experience is defined as a combination of therapeutic horticulture service delivery, non-direct client services, and supporting horticulture responsibilities. Therapeutic horticulture service delivery is defined as direct client contact utilizing horticultural activities as the primary modality.

Of the 500 hours:

• a minimum of 60% must be in therapeutic horticulture service delivery (300 hours) and
• a minimum of 40% of the total hours (200 hours) may be client-related responsibilities and/or supporting horticulture services. 

A completed Verification of Work Experience form signed by the applicant and either an employer, supervisor, or volunteer coordinator is required at time of application.

An independent contractor must provide proof of services rendered to include dates and hours (i.e., signed contract, paid invoices, written agreement).  

Note: If combining hours from more than one site with different supervisors, complete one form per site. 

Review the Professional Registration Policies and Procedures - Therapeutic Horticulture Practitioner for complete information.

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Horticultural Therapy Coursework Information

Grade:  All coursework must be for college credit.  All coursework must have a passing grade of C minus (C-) or above or a pass for a pass/fail course.

Credit:  Horticultural therapy coursework may be a combination of semester and quarter credits. The total combined credit must equal the required nine (9) semester credits in horticultural therapy.  For reference, review the Quarter to Semester Conversion Table for additional information.  Coursework must be converted from quarter to semester credits at time of application.

Required coursework:  The following horticultural therapy coursework represents subject areas and not specific course titles. 

If the degree program does not offer specific horticultural therapy courses, the nine (9) semester credits in horticultural therapy may be achieved by:

1) Completing an AHTA Accredited Certificate Program. 

2) Completing courses as an Independent Study. The independent study must be academic coursework reflective of the required course content in horticultural therapy and not be hands-on or work experience.

Horticultural therapy coursework completed as an independent study is required to cover the content areas as defined below. The following subject areas do not represent actual course titles. A course may include additional topic areas.

1. Overview of the profession to include:

1. Definition of horticultural therapy
2. History of horticultural therapy
3. Program types – horticultural therapy and therapeutic horticulture
4. Introduction to the American Horticultural Therapy Association
5. AHTA Code of Ethics and AHTA Standards of Practice
• Brief overview of the professional registration process 

2. Disability groups, characteristics and considerations, to include:

1. Psychological (e.g., mental illness, substance use, attention deficit)
2. Physical (e.g., spinal injury, orthopedic, cerebral palsy)
3. Sensory (e.g., vision, hearing, sensory processing)
4. Developmental (e.g., intellectual, autism, Down syndrome)
5. Disease (e.g., cancer, dementia, stroke) 

3. Program materials, tools, and techniques, to include:

1. Client assessment, evaluation, and documentation
2. Goals and objectives for horticultural therapy clients
3. Horticultural activities and activity modification
4. Plant materials for horticultural therapy programs
5. Adaptive tools, equipment, and devices
6. Accessible indoor/outdoor horticultural therapy area (including consultation, site assessment, installation, utilization, and evaluation)
7. Therapeutic garden characteristics and universal design 

4. Program management, to include:

1. Short- and long-term program plans
2. Horticultural therapy program proposals
3. Program budgets
4. Horticultural therapist role in multi-disciplinary team
5. Volunteer resources and management
6. Program promotion
7. Funding resources, grants, and funding proposals
8. Horticultural therapy research methods, evaluation, and outcomes

The AHTA Education section of the website lists colleges and universities that offer horticultural therapy as a degree option and lists AHTA accredited horticultural therapy certificate programs.

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THP Application Process

Ready to submit your application? There are four components to complete an application for professional registration: 

• Application
• Verification of Work Experience Form
• Official Transcripts
• Application Fee

Please be ready to submit:

• Academic information: identifying school(s) who will be forwarding transcripts.  
• Work-experience: a completed and signed Verification of Work Experience form and if applicable, supporting materials. 
• Work experience information may also be sent to the AHTA office as a PDF email attachment. 

Note: Official transcripts are required for all coursework. Unofficial transcripts, or unsealed transcripts, will not be accepted.

Transcripts - three options:

1. Official transcripts may be mailed directly to AHTA from the educational institution.
2. Official transcripts may be sent to the applicant and mailed unopened by the applicant to AHTA.
3. Official transcripts may be sent as electronic transcripts directly to AHTA from the granting school. Email AHTA.

Upon receipt of application, if there are any questions regarding the submitted materials, the review board will contact you and may ask for additional information. The application will be held and will not be processed until this information is received.

Review the THP Policies and Procedures for complete information about the application process and application review process.  

Complete Application Today

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Reclassification for the HTR, Registered Horticultural Therapist

An important professional option available to the Therapeutic Horticulture Practitioner is the ability to advance to Horticultural Therapist-Registered, HTR, under a reclassification option. 

The AHTA awards the professional designation Horticultural Therapist-Registered, HTR. The HTR requires coursework in plant science, human science, and horticultural therapy, in addition to a horticultural therapy internship or equivalent work experience. 

A THP may apply the 500 hours of work experience in therapeutic horticulture toward the required 1,500 hours internship-work experience option for the HTR. With an additional 1,000 hours of work experience, a THP will have the required hours.

When working toward future professional registration at the HTR level, therapeutic horticulture practitioners should review the AHTA Professional Registration Policy and Procedures for Horticultural Therapist-Registered for information about all the HTR requirements.

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Professional Registration Resources

• AHTA Professional Registration Policies and Procedures - Horticultural Therapist Registered
• AHTA Professional Registration Policies and Procedures – Therapeutic Horticulture Practitioner
• Course Titles that Support the AHTA Core Curriculum Topic Areas 
• For a list of programs that offer academic coursework in horticultural therapy, please refer to the Horticultural Therapy Education page.