Photo credit: Dyer Brown and associates.
In this series, Sanitary design asks leading healthcare design professionals, companies and owners to tell us what stands out to them and share insights on the topic.
Maggie Mitchell is an associate and senior interior designer in Atlanta and Boston. Dyer Brown and Associates. Here he shares the top five design trends and issues calling his attention right now, including addressing the behavioral health needs of LGBTQ+ teen clients, using outdoor spaces for dynamic and alternative therapies, and providing safety and comfort through design.
- Making LGBTQ+ patients feel welcome
Many of the most exciting advances in healthcare design are occurring in the fields of behavioral health. LGBTQ adolescent patients, for example, often experience health disparities primarily due to fear of coming out and discrimination. according to a fundamental study published in Cureus.
These patients may experience barriers to appropriate mental health treatment, when in reality they may need more care than non-LGBTQ patients, according to a recent study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study. Designers can help create environments that build trust and help patients overcome their fears of seeking care. Incorporating all-gender bathrooms, for example, lets these patients know that they are expected, welcomed, and understood.
- New ideas for outdoor therapy spaces.
People think of mental and behavioral health practices as a series of therapy rooms connected by hallways. But this approach doesn’t work for today’s best treatment regimens, which have programs that require a variety of group settings and interstitial spaces. In fact, having ample indoor relaxation areas and especially access to outdoor spaces are essential for successful patient outcomes, according to evidence-based design research cited by leading therapists.
Those based on evidence recommendations supports our intuition that access to daylight and views of nature are good for mental health. Young people in treatment spend a lot of time in indoor therapy, but integrating physical exercise with outdoor treatment areas is also considered essential for positive results. For example, exercise stations can help stimulate patients’ positive thinking and relax their mental states.
- Supportive environments for dynamic therapy.
Another area of rapid growth and success is the use of more dynamic types of therapy for behavioral health, which can include horticulture, meditation, music, arts, and even equine and fitness components. This holistic approach is reflected in Dyer Brown’s designs for Skyland Trail, a nonprofit residential mental health treatment organization for adults and adolescents in Atlanta. Campus buildings and major interior spaces are built around gardens and patients have the opportunity to work with their horticultural therapist in a greenhouse or in various healing gardens.
- Balance administrative and operational needs
As a designer or architect, the key to successful behavioral healthcare design is to better understand the client’s operations and administrative needs. A big trend we are seeing is the reorganization and centralization of administrative spaces, such as merging staff offices into a single area of the building. When it comes to treatment, we must fully reflect the flow of clients in treatment (inpatient versus outpatient) and how to best support those patients. This dual mindset (treatment and operations) informs everything from site selection to creating favorable adjacencies for homework areas, cafes, rest areas, and places for parents to hang out.
- Patient comfort and safety
Behavioral health patients benefit from a sense of control, as well as a sense of privacy, security, and minimized anxiety. Ease of wayfinding, plenty of access to controlled natural light, curated artwork, and environments for social interaction are some of the solutions to address these needs. Safety is both perceived and physical and impacts the way project teams approach the built environment, thoughtful choices of hardware, fixtures and furniture. For example, anti-ligature accessories, “breakaway” products such as shower hoses and curtains, and accessories designed without sharp edges can protect patients from self-harm or accidents.
Do you want to share your Top 5? Contact Editor-in-Chief Tracey Walker at tracey.walker@emeraldx.com for shipping instructions.
