Designing to Heal – Children’s Retreat

Recent changes taking place in healthcare overall have inspired design projects for organizations all over the country.

Due to reform and parity laws, access to care is anticipated to rise, and health insurers are now required to provide comparable benefits for both medical/surgical care and mental healthcare.

In response, Brattleboro Retreat, a psychiatric hospital in Brattleboro, Vt.  has worked to expand services and modernize its facility. Many of its inpatient clinical areas have been transformed into inviting and healing spaces that normalize care for those suffering from psychiatric illness and/or addiction.

The Retreat’s children’s unit was the first inpatient unit renovated.  It incorporated several functional yet child-friendly structures into the design. The result turned a previously drab environment into one that’s bright, colorful, healing, and comforting.

The nurses’ station, for example, is embedded in a wall-sized “giving tree” motif inspired by Shel Silverstein’s classic story of selflessness and happiness. The theme was chosen to reflect the compassionate care provided to children in the space and to incorporate something familiar to them, reducing a potentially clinical feel.

A recreation room was a new addition for the Retreat and was designed for play. It includes recessed cubbies shaped like kidney beans and large enough for a child to climb inside and hang out. The environment provides children with a space where they can feel in control and safe.

Sensory integration techniques are effective in working with children who have learning disabilities, including autism as well as those suffering from trauma, so a sensory room was also developed in the unit to create a therapeutic environment for this approach. Special emphasis was placed on sound, lighting, colors, and textures, with the room featuring a floor-to-ceiling bubble tube display, a glider for gentle rocking, and dimmable lights—all of which help children process sensory information and manage emotions.