Pineapple’s Daniel White hosts a discussion exploring how design impacts mental health spaces, with a focus on de-escalation in creating safe, therapeutic environments.

The design of EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment & Healing) units and other behavioural health crisis units plays a pivotal role in creating a calm and supportive space for psychiatric patients in otherwise chaotic and stressful emergency departments which are usually designed to accommodate physical ill health rather than mental ill health. 

Join Daniel with guests Dr Scott Zeller and Virginia Pankey as they discuss the physical environment’s influence on patients’ psychological well-being and behaviour, not just in terms of safety and recovery but also in functionality, aesthetics, and overall psychological impact – reinforcing the fact that physical spaces themselves can be therapeutic too. 

Our Guests: 

Scott Zeller, Vice President of Acute Psychiatry, Vituity

Dr. Zeller is the creator of the EmPATH (Emergency, Psychiatric, Assessment, Treatment and Healing) model. He is also the Vice President of Acute Psychiatry for Vituity where he is responsible for overall strategy and business development of the practice. He is Past-President of both the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry and the National Coalition on Psychiatric Emergencies, and currently serves as a professor at two medical schools. He was formerly Chief, Psychiatric Emergency Services for Oakland, CA, where he developed the blueprint for improving emergency psychiatric services known as the “Alameda Model”.

He has authored multiple textbooks, book chapters and peer-reviewed articles, lectures internationally as a keynote speaker, and is known as the co-inventor of On-Demand Emergency Telepsychiatry. He led Project BETA (Best Practices in the Evaluation and Treatment of Agitation), which has revolutionized the care approach for agitation around the world. He was awarded the 2015 USA Doctor of the Year by the National Council for Behavioral Health, the 2019 Ritz E. Heerman Memorial Award for improving healthcare for all Californians by the California Hospital Association, and in 2020 was named one of the “Ten Most Influential People in Healthcare Design” by Healthcare Design Magazine.

Virginia Pankey, Behavioral Health Practice Leader, HOK

Virginia is a leader in the planning and design of healthcare projects with a focus on behavioral health and acute care.

Based in HOK’s St. Louis studio, Virginia has been profiled in Healthcare Design Magazine and other publications for her expertise in behavioral health design. A frequent speaker on healthcare planning and design, she has led workshops, panel discussions and presentations for the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI); Washington University in St. Louis; American Society for Health Care Engineering; Planning, Design and Construction Summit; Healthcare Design Conference + Expo; and the American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Health. Her speaking topics have included behavior health codes and standards, med/psych facilities, behavioral health crisis units and more.

Virginia is an active member of FGI, serving as a co-chair of its Behavioral and Mental Health Topic Group, a member of its Health Guidelines Revision Committee, and a past chair of its Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Unit Topic Group for which she co-authored a white paper titled “Design of Behavioral Health Crisis Units.”

This episode is hosted by Pineapple, creators of mindfully designed furniture for behavioral and mental health environments.

Pineapple’s Lotte Bailey hosts a discussion about the influence of the lived experience on design in mental health. 

People are sharing valuable perspectives, informing the design of mental health spaces using their own experiences and recovery journeys to help designers create more effective and compassionate solutions for the built environment.

This approach ensures that interventions are thoughtful, sensitively approached and aligned with the needs and preferences of patients and care providers. Lived experience can inform the design of everything from built environments and therapeutic interventions to digital tools and service delivery models. By valuing the wisdom of those who have been through it, the field of mental health design is moving towards a more equitable and empowering approach to care. 

Join Lotte with guests Hannah Chamberlain and Jo Baudin as they chat about the influence of the lived experience: common misconceptions, new challenges and ensuring inclusivity in the mental health sector. 

Our Guests:

Hannah Chamberlain, Mental Health Consultant

Hannah is a mental health campaigner, activist and entrepreneur who has just finished her stint as Design in Mental Health Network CEO. Her writing, enterprise leadership, films and storytelling on the subject of mental health and identity have led to recognition; winning the Stelios Foundation Disabled Entrepreneur Award, featuring on BBC and in the Evening Standard, and being mentioned by the minister for Disabled People in the Houses of Parliament. She has been involved with the Design in Mental Health community since 2008.

Jo Baudin, Interior Architect, Artist + Lived Experience Advisor

With a BSc degree in Interior architecture and experience in the UK commercial design and build industry, Jo works in Public Health Design and Quality Improvement to adapt and change the built environment for the better. Using her professional skills combined with service user lived experience, Jo advises organisations and charities such as: London NHS Mental Health Trusts; The Royal Collage of Psychiatrists; the Oxford Health BRC; the Design in Mental Health Network and Mental Health Arts charity Hospital Rooms.

This episode is hosted by Pineapple, creators of mindfully designed furniture for behavioral and mental health environments.

Pineapple’s Edward Larsen hosts a discussion around neurodivergence and the importance of design for support and inclusivity. 

We have an opportunity in the design world to make the built environment less of a challenge for the neurodivergent population, and focus on creating spaces that are inclusive and supportive of individuals and their diverse cognitive styles.

Building versatility into the spaces gives a sense of agency to the people within them. While we can’t really understand how everyone is going to perceive the built environment, one thing we can do is ask.

Join Edward with guests Stephanie Vito and Jason Beshore as they discuss how design is influencing the built environment to not only be a space of healing but also a space made suitable for all people within it.

Our Guests: 

Stephanie Vito, Principal

CannonDesign

Since the beginning of her career, Stephanie has made it her mission to bring an oft-neglected subset of healthcare and design to the forefront–mental and behavioral health. She possesses a keen understanding of how the delivery of behavioral healthcare and its evolution are best supported by the environments designers create. Her goal on each project is to address the entire continuum of care within mental health, knowing it is key to reducing stigma and bringing resources and care to those who need it most. 

Stephanie’s professional drive is rooted in basic human empathy — seeking to eliminate stigmas that surround behavioral health by pushing society’s preconceptions through design. She is dedicated to the advancement and betterment of behavioral health environments and is a strong advocate for putting mental healthcare centers in urban areas. She is consistently advocating for health systems to be progressive in how they approach mental healthcare and the spaces where care is provided, frequently sharing her expertise at conferences and nationwide publications.  

Jason Beshore, Principal, Health / Associate Vice President

HDR 

With more than 25 years of design and construction experience, primarily in healthcare facilities, Jason has a well-balanced background in healthcare planning, operations, project management, architecture, construction, and client relations.

A passionate client advocate and actively engaged in the implementation of his projects from inception to completion, Jason's healthcare experience includes ambulatory care centers, cancer facilities, diagnostic imaging, emergency departments, medical office buildings, inpatient beds and many other healthcare environments. 

A member of the Mental Healthcare Design Center of Excellence, Jason introduces strategic design trends to a broader audience. In a field where evidence-based design and research targeted toward mental health have historically lagged behind, he leads the charge to use research findings to fill the gap and build upon that evidence base to continually improve the standard of care. 

Jason has served as the behavioral health expert on numerous behavioral and mental health projects across the U.S. for private healthcare clients and state agencies, holding roles in planning and design leadership.

This episode is hosted by Pineapple, creators of mindfully designed furniture for behavioral and mental health environments.

In this episode Pineapple’s Lotte Bailey hosts a discussion looking at the future of behavioral and mental health design, recognising the critical role of the built environment in recovery and wellbeing. 

But while technology is racing ahead and certainly aiding the transition from purely functional to more adaptive healing environments, there are still systemic issues we face designing suitable spaces within our communities. 

Join Lotte with guests Stephen Parker, Anosha Zanjani and Daniel White as they discuss the fascinating opportunities and challenges of our race into the future of behavioural and mental health design.

Our Guests: 

Stephen Parker, Behavioural and Mental Health Planner 

Stantec Architecture 

A dedicated behavioural health planner and mental health design subject matter expert, Stephen is a proponent of “architect as advocate” for colleague, client, and community alike, and he believes strongly in leadership through service. Advocating by design for humanity at its most vulnerable, elevating communities in crisis, and serving those that suffer in silence, Stephen is driving purpose in Stantec’s boundaryless Behavioural Health Practice across the globe.

With awards from Healthcare Design Magazine, FastCo, and the Institute for Patient-Centered Design, Stephen is a collaborative researcher and accomplished designer. An AIA Young Architect Award Winner & HFSE George Pressler Under 40 Recipient, Stephen has been named to Healthcare Design's Best Under 40 list by the AIA’s Academy of Architecture for Health and the ENR’s National Top 20 Under 40. He was the youngest licensed architect elected to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Strategic Council, and he championed the AIA Strategic Council’s Mental Health + Architecture Incubator.

Anosha Zanjani, Principal Mental Health Consultant

Mindful Insights Consulting

Anosha Zanjani is the Principal Behavioural Health Consultant at Mindful Insights Consulting. With a background in architectural design, mental health, neuroscience, and psychiatric research, she is dedicated to transforming mental health care through design. Anosha began her career in mental health and neuroscience, working in psychiatric facilities, private practices, and academic institutions. Realizing the critical role of physical spaces in recovery, she transitioned to architecture, focusing on well-being design and neuroarchitecture across the mental health continuum of care and beyond. 

Anosha is an experienced speaker and writer having lectured at international conferences and published in some of the world’s top peer-review journals. She holds a BSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health from the University of Toronto and a Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in New York. 

Daniel White, Behavioural and Mental Health Principal

Pineapple 

For the past six years, Daniel has been dedicated to enhancing the design of behavioural and mental health facilities across the UK, Europe, and America. His primary focus has been on improving the patient experience to support and facilitate effective rehabilitation. With Pineapple’s innovative and thoughtful product design for challenging environments, Dani

This episode is hosted by Pineapple, creators of mindfully designed furniture for behavioral and mental health environments.