Insights & Solutions

Learn about how a county directive to relocate different behavioral health programs into one location led to a unique design for serving low to high-risk populations in an integrated facility, and how collaboration among the architect, interior designer, landscape architect, owner, staff, and clients played an integral role in shaping the programming and design.

Behavioral and mental health (BMH) conditions affect one in five adults in the United States each year, and are even more common among patients receiving care for medical conditions. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the spectrum of BMH conditions includes anxiety, attention deficit disorders, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and suicide, among others. Up to 45% of patients admitted to the hospital for a medical condition or presenting to the emergency department with a minor injury also have a concurrent BMH condition. These BMH comorbidities increase the risk of psychological harm associated with care.

As part of the Behavioral & Mental Health toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the prevalence of behavioral and mental health conditions as comorbidities; design strategies for promoting psychological wellness; and a systematic benefit analysis approach to meet the psychological needs of all.

The goal for this project was to design the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care was to challenge the aesthetic typically associated with that of a forensic detention facility, while focusing on supporting the client’s healing process. 

The goal of this project was to design a behavioral health setting within the emergency department (ED) that is non-institutional and calming for patients. To provide solutions that will meet the needs of a diverse behavioral health patient mix.

This webinar introduces the new, easier to use, online interface for The Center’s Safety Risk Assessment (SRA) toolkit, a proactive and systematic approach to designing and renovating healthcare facilities for safety. Originally developed through research and consensus to support the requirements of the FGI Guidelines, The Center's research team will walk you through the why, what, and how of each part of the online SRA toolkit illustrating features with vignettes gathered from the testing process.  

Toward a Framework for Designing Person-Centered Mental Health Interiors for Veterans, Journal of Interior Design, DOI: 10.1111/joid.12095

Design interventions to improve well-being for patients with behavioral and mental health (BMH) conditions will often have impacts on other populations, as well (e.g., staff, visitors, non-BMH patients who use the same facility). This tool will help you consider those broader impacts and incorporate them into an evidence-based process for a universal design approach.  

Inside you will learn about: why behavioral health facilities have very different design requirements than general hospitals; how different areas of a behavioral health unit have different safety needs that influence design choices; and which types of safety measures and products should be incorporated into behavioral health units.

Inside you will learn about: why relationships are at the heart of successful psychiatric treatment strategies; how effective designs can facilitate positive interactions between clinicians and patients; and the benefits of using a community treatment model that allows patients to access services in carefully designed “neighborhood treatment malls.”