Nidotherapy has been around for 20 years but is still not well known. This could be for several reasons:

1. It is far too complicated a word
2. It represents nothing new
3. It is incredibly boring
4. It describes what good psychiatrists do all the time
5. It is so obvious it does not need a title
6. It does not have a manual associated with it so I cannot practise the treatment.

I would like to challenge all these misperceptions. Nidotherapy is named after nidus, the Latin word for nest, as a nest is an accommodating environment that adjusts to any object, no matter what its shape. So nidotherapy accepts very difficult, multifaceted, mental problems and finds an appropriate environment for the people who have them. And by ‘environment’ I means all aspects of the physical, social, and personal environment, and that covers a very large range. As for ‘nothing new’ I suggest you look at the nidotherapy website and read more, possibly looking at the film on the home page, and the BBC2 film in the Media section, where you can see what involved in treatment. This shows whatever else it is it is not boring, and I would challenge anybody to do what is being done here as normal day-to-day practice.

It does not need a manual as the environmental decisions are made by the people who are being treated. Or perhaps ‘advised’ is a better term. All the environmental changes in nidotherapy are made by consensus and owned by the person concerned. This is very important – for too long practitioners have arrogantly decided what environment is best for a person without discussion.

For deeper understanding get hold of a copy of the second edition of Nidotherapy: Harmonising the Environment with the Patient, by Peter and Helen Tyrer.

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