Synopsis
Environments are far from neutral backdrops to psychological life; instead, they should be considered active participants in psychological processes and interpersonal relations (Brown & Reavey, 2015; 2018). People and place, together. In mental health environments, this relationship is crucial, given people who use services often enter with difficult and even traumatic histories that involve complex and conflict-ridden relationships from the recent and distant past. However, the histories of service users are often rendered invisible on entry into inpatient services and yet we would argue, the environments can compound existing traumatic responses and strengthen problematic ways of relating. Using data across several qualitative studies, we show how physical and psychological barriers built into certain environments, via expressed emotion in social spaces, a lack of stimulation in places of isolation and seclusion, as well as the invisible barriers created between staff and patients in several key areas on the ward and in bedrooms, render these environments psychologically un-safe. We finish by suggesting ways in which psychological safety might be enhanced, using a memory and trauma informed approach.
