“Whose Anxiety Are We Treating?” Balancing Risk Mitigation With The Need For Caring and Therapeutic Environments.

Synopsis

In this session, Philip Ross (DIMH Chair / CEO and Co-Founder at Safehinge Primera) will share his observations from over 15years designing products for use in mental health hospitals around the world. He’svisited +100 hospitals and listened to hundreds of patients, people with lived experience, and staff from these settings as part of his ongoing learning.

One question that continually comes up is the approach to managing risks in mental health settings, and the differing approaches by different countries. When a clinical director in Texas made the statement “Whose anxiety are we treating?”, referring to the fear of risk by staff and organisations, it stuck with him, capturing the blind designers often face between creating therapeutic and caring spaces for patients, and risk management. The latter often wins, with a detrimental impact on the person receiving care, and the caregiver.

Together with a key co-design partner, Philip will also explore the potential role of technology as a different and less intrusive means of risk management.