Research shows that contact with nature plays a vital role in our psychological wellbeing. Domestic gardening is common among older adults who spend more leisure hours gardening than any other age group. Despite this, few studies have systematically explored the significance of domestic gardens in relation to older adults' health and wellbeing. This study examined the perceived therapeutic benefits of gardening, and the effect of ageing in relation to older gardeners' continued participation in gardening, using quantitative and qualitative data from a survey of Australian older adult gardeners (N=331). The quantitative data, which included frequencies, were analysed using the PASW Statistics 18.0 package. The qualitative data, which included participants' responses to open questions, were analysed by deriving themes via Leximancer, an innovative text analytics software that uses word association information to elicit concepts, extracting the most important and grouping these according to themes. In relation to the reasons for gardening, several themes were identified including valuing the aesthetics of gardens, connecting with nature, achievement, and physical and mental activity. The benefits of gardening, and the variety of ways that respondents had adapted or modified their gardening activities in order to continue, are also reported. Gardening was more than a casual leisure pursuit for these participants, who saw it as critical to their physical and psychological wellbeing.

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The aim of the study described was to capture student experiences in postgraduate clinical programmes across Australian universities. The data collected from the Directors of clinical programmes was used to further illustrate the training practices and constraints within the current Australian context. The data were collected through two survey instruments and were analysed by deriving themes via Leximancer as well as quantitative content analysis of percentage response to direct questions. The results indicate that while many students are happy with the training received, there are also many areas open to significant improvement both in the teaching and assessment of clinical skills and course content more generally. Students overwhelmingly prefer practical, interactive, and competency‐based teaching and assessment to didactic, written and exam‐based alternatives that are still used in most programmes. The responses from programme Directors further illustrate the concerns currently faced by clinical staff engaged in training programmes, with insufficient training places available in the community, fewer clients accessing training clinics, and concerns related to adequate supervision and the competency of students exited from programmes. The findings are discussed in light of limitations to the study and suggestions for future research directions.

Debates over models of professional training have occurred in several health disciplines, including psychology. Currently, clinical competencies form the backbone of training in clinical psychology and in standards for the accreditation of such training programs, with sample domains including ethical and legal issues, assessment, intervention, and experience with a diversity of clients across cultures and the lifespan. We review a range of models for clinical competencies that have been put forth in the international literature and report on results of a survey of students undertaking clinical training as to the methods of assessment used in their training programs. Results showed that direct competency assessment was less commonly used than expected from the stated accreditation standards. One factor behind the results may be that ways to assess such competencies remain elusive. In this article, several models of clinical competencies are put forward, along with a method of assessing such competencies within an Australian context.

Objectives: This study examined relationships between home and community gardening and older adults’ self-reported psychosocial and physical well-being, attitudes to aging relative to gardening activities and benefits of membership to a gardening group. Methods: A survey addressing (a) demographic characteristics, (b) gardening interests and sentiments, (c) activities, (d) benefits, (e) self-rated health and quality of life and (f) attitudes to aging was administered online and via mail-out. Results: Participants, 331 gardeners aged 60–95 years from Australia, reported numerous benefits from leisure gardening. According to multiple regression analysis, Restoration and Physical benefits were the strongest explanatory variables of participants’ positive aging self-perceptions. Members of gardening groups reported significantly more social and physical benefits than non-members. Conclusion: The current study provides support for promoting positive aging through gardening. Regardless of ‘doing’ gardening or simply ‘being’ in the garden, having contact with nature was key to attaining positive therapeutic benefits for this sample.