Sacred Spaces, Healing Places: Therapeutic Landscapes of Spiritual Significance

Understandings of the relationship between space, culture and belief are formative in the experience of seeking healing. This paper examines the relationship between place, healing and spirituality in the context of interdisciplinary perspectives (particularly those of the medical humanities) on healing and well-being. The paper examines places of spiritual significance and their relationship to healing in the ‘uncertain’ quest for alleviation or cure, exploring these thematics in the context of the work on the geographies of ‘therapeutic landscapes.’ Through a discussion of fieldwork at two sites in Perthshire, Scotland, a framework is proposed for the investigation of therapeutic sites of spiritual significance, detailing features such as connection, renewal, reproduction, participation, alleviation and expectation. A deeper examination of sites of healing with spiritual significance, it is proposed, has the potential to develop greater understandings of the ways in which people experience illness and well-being.