Therapeutic patient education programs for obese patients combining art-therapy and therapeutic gardening deeply mobilises the interiority of obese people. They contribute to the improvement of the quality of life as well as the patients’ self-esteem.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate a therapeutic education program combining garden and art-therapy proposed to a group of obese patients.

Method: 12 sessions of “garden and art-therapy” have been proposed to 12 obese patients during one year. Following the cycle of the seasons, different themes have been treated in relation to the experience of patients suffering from obesity. A 2-hour focus group bringing together the participants at the end of the program allowed the evaluation of this process.

Results: adherence to the program was 85%. The verbatims of the patients collected during the focus group were divided into 7 categories: nature as resource, sensory garden, garden as mediator to connect with oneself, metaphorical garden as source of expression, creation with art-therapy, influence of the group and different approaches of care.

Conclusion: The association of garden and art-therapy in a therapeutic patient education program seems to be relevant and could be transposed to other chronic diseases.