A concise but informative evidence-based guide to how elements such as high quality personal space, some control over the environment, suitable therapeutic facilities, access to nature, attractive aesthetics, and good acoustics, can significantly aid recovery in inpatient mental health settings, has been published by the Design in Mental Health Network (DIMHN).
Design With People in Mind was compiled after a thorough trawl of existing research by members of the Network’s Research and Education Workstream, led by Paula Reavey, Professor of Psychology at London South Bank university (LSBu), Jeff Bartle, formerly head of Design at St Andrew’s Healthcare, who recently launched his own consultancy, and Katharine Harding, an associate at Conran and Partners, and a doctoral researcher at LSBu.
In the introduction to the new publication – which was launched at May’s DIMH 2017 conference, and will now be available as a ‘Member only’ benefit, the authors say: “We wanted to show how people use the spaces; how they feel, how they act and move in the environments designed to help them to heal. Our vision is to apply evidence, not simply to read about it, which is why we have put together an accessible summary of key research, in the hope that it will benefit those who design, live in, and work in, different kinds of care environments.”