Inclusive Spaces: Environments for Mental Health
17 May 2023, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

This online Inclusive Spaces event will explore the architecture of psychiatric buildings and the importance of involving end users in the design and planning of mental health care environments.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
The locations and environments of mental health care have changed dramatically in recent decades. Large pyschiatric hospitals have been replaced with a plethora of smaller, integrated, mental health facilities that enable care to be provided closer to home and in psychosocially supportive settings.
But people living with mental illness have experienced centuries of stigma and marginalisation, and the radical transformation in mental care environments has been challenged by systemic institutional inertia.
In this online Inclusive Spaces event we will explore the types of buildings and spaces where community mental health is provided, and how these environments are an integral part of a psychosocially supportive system.
We will discuss current concepts in the planning, architecture and design of psychiatric buildings, and how the design and location of mental health facilities can perpetuate the stigma associated with mental health. We will also explore how mental health professionals adapt to therapeutic environments that can often be unfit for purpose.
Most importantly, we will demonstrate the importance of including end users in the design and planning of their care environments, and seeing end users as experts. We will share evidence on why it is critical to involve them in every part of the decision-making to build better mental health care environments.
Led by The Bartlett Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) group, the Inclusive Spaces monthly series presents the latest ideas and research from The Bartlett’s leading thinkers in the built environment field. We explore disability, race, gender, LGBTQ+ and many other dimensions of diversity and discover how they intersect with built environments around the world.
Recording and accessibility
The session will be recorded, and the recording and written transcript will be shared with attendees after the event.
We want to make our events accessible for everyone, and we encourage you to let us know if you have any accessibility requirements including:
- Presentation slides in advance for screen readers
- Live closed captions during the event
- Live British Sign Language interpretation during the event
- Any other requirements
Please contact Alma Daskalaki, Bartlett Faculty Events Officer at a.daskalaki@ucl.ac.uk with accessibility requirements. Please note we require two working days' notice for requests.
About the Speakers
Dr Evangelia Chrysikou
Associate Professor at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London (UCL)
Evangelia Chrysikou RIBA is Associate Professor at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, UCL, Director of the MSc Healthcare Facilities and medical architect. Her multi-awarded research and enterprise on healthcare and the built environment spans from Japan and New Zealand to Peru. She has been Vice-President of Urban Health of EUPHA and at the Board of the National Authority of Accessibility for Greece and coordinated the environment section of the EIP on Active and Healthy Ageing, European Union.
More about Dr Evangelia ChrysikouProf Helen Killaspy
Professor and Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Psychiatry at University College London (UCL) and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust
Helen Killaspy is Professor and Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Psychiatry at University College London and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. She leads national and international research programmes that focus on the assessment of quality of care for people with complex mental health problems and the evaluation of complex interventions for this group. She is former Chair of the Faculty of Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry of the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists. In 2019 she was awarded the Pascale-Boyle prize by the European Psychiatric Association for ‘outstanding achievement by a woman in working to improve mental health care in Europe’. She was the Topic Advisor for the first NICE Guideline on mental health rehabilitation, published in August 2020. In 2021 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Faculty of Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
More about Prof Helen KillaspyKatherine Barrett
Co-Chair at Service User Research Fora at University College London (UCL)
Katherine Barrett is a mental health service user and since 2009 has been co-chair with Prof Helen Killaspy of the Service User Research Fora at UCL. She takes part in service user involvement at Camden and Islington Foundation Trust where she attends management meetings and is part of the Service User Alliance. She has academic qualifications and is a qualified teacher. Katherine also takes part in research at UCL and Kings. She is part of the Co-production Collective at UCL as she believes coproduction in mental health research is very important. .