THERAPEUTIC ENVIRONMENT APPROACH FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS MENTAL HEALTHCARE FACILITY DESIGN

• Main Author: Aufa Khairunnisa, Amanda
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Bangunan publik
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81820
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

In the journey of maturation, childhood and adolescent experiences profoundly shape future trajectories. Mental health is crucial for holistic development and well-being. Untreated early-life mental health disorders can detrimentally impact cognitive functions, productivity, and increase vulnerability to severe psychiatric disorders in adulthood. In Indonesia, the prevalence of mental health disorders among youth has become a significant concern in recent years. Cases of violence serve as precipitating factors for adolescent mental health disorders, with prevalence rates showing alarming increases. In 2022, the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection identified a correlation between experiences of violence and mental health disorders among adolescent victims, highlighting the urgent need to integrate trauma care services into mental health facilities as a preventive measure. However, current facilities in Indonesia have yet to optimize physical environmental interventions to aid in the recovery process. This thesis focuses on designing a mental healthcare facility by integrating crisis intervention services for violence victims. Through summative content analysis of relevant theories and employing the Therapeutic Environment approach, design criteria are formulated to create an architectural environment that fosters positive stimuli for children and adolescents’ psychological recovery. The design criteria address four key areas: Sense of Control, Social Well-Being, Positive Distractions, and Mitigating Environmental Stressors. These criteria are synthesized into the foundational concept of “comprehensively creating therapeutic effetcs through holistic design elements.” The concept is implemented through design strategies across three primary thematic scales: (1) Site Planning: zoning and massing, landscape, natural features; (2) Architecture: homelike image, interactive wayfinding, comfort and healthy; (3) Interior: flexibility, spatial complexity, and securely active. This thesis aims to contribute to the development of architecture rooted in mental health or healing environments.