Toward a Future Orientation: A Supportive Mental Health Facility Environment.

BACKGROUND

The provision of supportive environments is essential in clinical and environmental psychology. Mental health disorders are a major issue, and the experience of being at a mental health facility is affected by numerous factors related to the building's design.

AIM

The aim of this study is to explore the expectations of a mental health facility planning group regarding the potential impact of a supportive design on patients' mental health and staff's therapeutic practices when planning and designing a new mental health facility.

METHODS

The new mental health facility is a case study and data were collected through qualitative in-depth interviews with nine participants and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The participants came from a mental health facility planning group in a new mental health facility in Norway.

RESULTS

The overall expectation of the new building was related to a future orientation to support patients' mental health and therapeutic practices. Three main themes were identified: toward a future orientation, supportive building design, and work environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Supportive environments are expected to influence patients' mental health and staff's therapeutic practices, including providing options for novel treatment needs in contrast to older and more outdated buildings that are perceived as hindering appropriate treatment conditions.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.