“Inside Out” Research and Development in Design for Mental Health Settings

Conference Background and Aims
For three years now, the Department of Design at the University of Central Lancashire has been collaborating with staff and clients within mental health care settings in order to design and refurbish in-patient and low secure units. During this period the department has been told by many health professionals that they often feel isolated in their work and are often asked to oversee refurbishment and new builds with little design knowledge of their own. “I wish I had known what alternatives there are and how to project manage” is often expressed by health service staff and departments whereas designers want more understanding of mental illness and the needs of mental health service users who they may be working with.

Service users and carers want to know how they can best contribute when they are asked to give advice. Therefore, the Department of Design is pleased to announce the first one day conference for designers and those involved in the design or refurbishment of mental health in-patient settings.

The primary aim of this first conference is to explore the context in which design takes place within these settings and the effectiveness of the contribution designers can make.

Topics to be covered include:-

Language use and communication
Service User Involvement
Ethical Issues and Research

Organiser
Dr Ann Whitworth, Research Co-ordinator for health projects in the department of Design at The University of Central Lancashire, Dr Whitworth has a health background and experience of facilitating the involvement of designers and service users in planning mental health premises.

Who should attend?
ANYONE with an interest in designing mental health units and settings. Architects, artists, designers, NHS estates staff, services users, medical staff, clients, nursing staff, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists… whatever your interest, if you have been asked to advise on or get involved in designing new mental health settings or refurbishing your own areas this conference is for you!

Conference Programme
A full conference programme will be available as soon as individual speakers have been confirmed. The complete programme will be available on the following website:
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/other/hs/academic-conf.htm