Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being

I like that there is neuropysiology integrated into the pages as I read. It pulls it all together for me. I intuitively know that surroundings (both physical and emotional) make differene in healing but now also have scientific reasoning or proposed reasoning for it as well. I go with the flow from my intuitive side but it's always nice to be able to back it up with evidence based science. It will be an adventure tracking new research about this very interesting topic. I see more than financial changes in how health care is delivered in the near future and much of it is, actually, a reintroduction of old practices like having solariums and gathering places in facilities, creating community, interaction, distraction, empathy and health. It works for staff as well as patients and creates new opportunites to do patient education, the back bone of patient 's self-efficacy and prevention. It is the truth about integration of health care delivery and healing at it's best.

I had the chance to read the first book of this writer that focus more on scientific history and clinical field. This new book is somehow a great continuation of this impressive new field but now the author focus more on practical points rather than on scientific experiments. The amount of information contained in both books are pretty good, always trying to explain scientific world in simple waysI have learned a lot, especially about how important is to not ignore our emotions and how the environment we live in can chance our life quality. The greatest argument of this book in my opinion is scientific data that support the new view of how cities and hospital should be made. Art, gardens, light and friends all are pivotal to improve our lives and patients careThanks for this wonderful book and keep the good work

Dr. Sternberg makes an excellent case for the powerful role of the mind in promoting healing. I gifted this book to a dear friend who has Multiple Sclerosis and who struggles on a daily basis to cope with her disease. There is no doubt that a positive attitude is foremost in coping with any chronic health problem. Equally important is creating an environment where that positive force can thrive. Enabling ourselves to return to a functioning level depends on our ability to comprehend the advances in research on mind-body-environment integration. To that extent the author has successfully taken complicated research discoveries and simplified them through example and discourse in layman's terms. When we acquire this knowledge and use it in our daily lives, we enhance our ability to rise above being victimized and defined by a disease process. I highly recommend this for people who are living with any chronic disease process and for their caretakers as well. The average healthy individual will find this book useful in building an environment that promotes health in their daily lives. There's no magic or superstition in this book. It's based on solid science. Read it and get on with living a good life.

If you are looking for a reference on the benefits of connecting to nature in our healing environments look no further. This book contains numerous references which will provide you with years of research.

To me, a title of a book is the same the title of a paper. Just as the paper should point back to the title and thesis, the book should point back to the title. Many times, during the course of reading this book, I wondered what the point was. If I would have submitted a paper like this in my critical thinking class, I would have gotten an F. She even plugs her "relationship" to Selye, which I thought the name dropping was unnecessary to gain audience confidence in her work.The thoughts seem disjointed as one of the things the author leads with is architecture. Another thing that the author leads with was is how patients were healed faster when they looked at a tree as opposed to a wall. That makes sense, but then the author goes off on hearing, seeing, etc.. I found myself lost lots of times: "why is she not only mentioning this but she is going off on a tangent about it?" That was not the book I was looking for, and I gave up at the 35% according to my Kindle app. The correct way to build audience trust, confidence, and loyalty, to me, is to deliver what the book is supposed to be about.According to the table of contents, It seems that the juicy parts of the book are in the back, but I have many things on my "to read" list that I don't have patience, nor the energy, nor the time to keep investing in a book that doesn't deliver upfront. There are millions of books out there, and surely one discusses what I'm looking for. I know that many times publishers hold authors to a certain page number, but the first third of book not talking about "healing spaces" is ridiculous. Why did the tree heal the patients faster? Maybe the author would have gotten to that eventually? I will not be discovering the answer to that question this go around. Maybe another time when I'm not so disappointed and cranky.Also, it would have been nice to include pics of the labyrinths, mazes, the nose, and the architecture/work mentioned in the beginning. I googled them, but it would have been nice to save readers some time.

I enjoy this author's perspective so much! Her writing is very accessible in this book and I appreciate the way she relates information back to medical research.

After listening to a fascinating CBC radio interview with Dr. Sternberg, I bought the book for additional information and was not disappointed. It is interesting to read about new studies that provide empirical evidence supporting both old and new theories.A great glimpse into evidence based design in healthcare facilities.

Love this book. Arrived at the right time as we where leaving for Arizona, took it with me and enjoyed reading it.

Thought provoking and thorough - recommend this. Heather S

While this is an intelligent book, I was disappointed with the content. I was looking for a book which describes exactly what it is about various spaces that calm and comfort people, so I could use it to figure out what made some rooms, buildings and views more appealing than others. This book concentrates on medical issues, not as I had thought, on the impact of environment on general well-being. So buy if you are interested in hospital and clinic design, but not if you're curious about all other environments where people spend their time!

Love it!

Excellent