Design of a sensory healing counseling space that helps mental health recovery
# “It was the best counseling room I’ve ever seen, and I think the counseling will go well.”
# “It feels like I am in a hotel VIP room and receiving special treatment.”
-Reviews from clients who received counseling at ‘Mind Garden’-
# “Counseling is conducted with a welcoming spirit toward the client, which increases self-esteem and self-efficacy as a counselor.”
-Review from a counselor who provided counseling at ‘Mind Garden’-
□ The Seoul Metropolitan Government has developed opened a counseling space for stressed citizens.
□ With the importance of mental health emerging as a top social issue in the post-covid era, negative perceptions of visiting mental health clinics are decreasing and demand for psychological counseling is increasing, but the actual use environment is poor. The city of Seoul paid attention to these social issues. It developed ‘Mind Garden,’ a Seoul-style counseling space that improves the quality of counseling services through design and helps recovery and change.
○ As mental health problems among citizens have become more serious, such as an increase in the number of consultations due to the prolonged COVID-19 outbreak and an increase in the rate of suicidal thoughts compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19, the amount of counseling-related welfare programs has expanded, but fundamentally, the qualitative improvement of counseling spaces has not been supported. (2021 National Mental Health Knowledge and Attitude Survey, 2022 Second Quarter National Mental Health Survey Results, Ministry of Health and Welfare)
○ Counseling services conducted in many poor on-site spaces have led to a decline in citizens’ expectations and value perception, which can reduce the effectiveness of counseling. In addition, clients are vulnerable to confidentiality, such as the contents of the consultation being exposed due to open glass walls or poor soundproofing, making it difficult to open up and receive counseling about private areas.
□ Accordingly, Seoul designed the space by focusing on the three essential elements of a counseling space as a point of contact between psychological quarantine and stress relief: soundproofing, concentration, and stability.
○ As part of the stress relief design project that has been in progress since 2016, the city of Seoul promoted the ‘Stress Relief Design: Counseling Space’ project, which strengthens citizens’ mental health immunity and realizes a happy and stable daily life through design.
○ The name ‘Mind Garden’ was given in the sense of objectively examining one’s state of mind before entering the space, taking care of one’s mind with a counselor, and cultivating it with sincerity.
□ ‘Mind Garden’ is a booth-type counseling space that can be easily installed as a product without major construction. It has been developed in two types, 12 square meters and 82 square meters, and can also be used as a self-healing space when counseling is not taking place.
□ To create an environment where counselors and clients can focus on counseling, the design was developed based on evidence presented by reliable domestic and foreign researches and experts, and environmental psychology that provides comfort to the five senses such as lighting, color, material, scent, sound, and props. By applying basic stress relief elements, we created an optimal environment for the client's complete recovery and change.
○ The gable roof of the cozy entrance gives independence to the space, creates a welcoming impression, and at the same time arouses curiosity about the interior space. A mini garden is created at the bottom of the exterior to create a positive mood, and a speaker to hear birdsong is installed to naturally block noise from the outside.
○ To increase soundproofing, which is one of the top priority factors in consultation, the ceiling was finished with sound-absorbing panels and the walls were finished with soundproofing plaster.
○ To prepare for safety in the event of an unexpected situation, we installed a side window that allows outsiders to see only the back of the counselor without making eye contact with the client when checking inside to protect the client and counselor.
○ Curtains and fabric sofas were installed in turquoise, which is a mid-tone between green, which helps with emotional stability, and blue, which helps give calmness and courage, and a warm and bright wood-tone film and off-white wallpaper finish created a sense of comfort.
○ To create a comfortable atmosphere for sharing intimate stories, indirect lighting without glare and spotlighting whose illumination intensity can be adjusted as needed were installed.
○ A diffuser with a scent that calms the mind and body and relieves stress was provided to create a feeling of comfort and peace.
□ In addition, to improve the situation in most sites where windows cannot serve as scenery windows other than ventilation windows, ‘media scenery windows’ that serve as virtual windows were installed. ‘Mind Garden’ is a new concept counseling space that combines ‘environmental psychological elements’ and ‘healing content’ and presents a counseling space design guide to creating an optimal counseling environment in Seoul.
○ Based on positive research results on the efficacy of meditation to increase brain performance and help train the mind, ‘media meditation’ was used as stress relief content to create a healing space combining video, sound, and lighting.
○ If the client selects the natural scenery mode they desire among the five natural themes, they can enjoy the natural scenery seen outside the window along with the sounds of nature through the media scenery window.
○ People who complain of depression or anxiety usually have a low threshold for withstanding frustration and are prone to losing concentration. However, even a virtual window can provide a sense of openness through digital content and help clients manage their sensitive emotions through natural scenery that calms the mind. It helps maintain a psychological state that allows you to focus on counseling.
□ Before and after applying the 'Mind Garden' design, the 'Korean Trauma Association' conducted an effectiveness evaluation using measurement tools such as electroencephalography and evaluation questionnaires, and as a result, the emotional index increased by 3.8% and the anti-stress index increased by 13.1% in the left brain, right hemisphere increased by 17.4%. Additionally, stress, depression, and anxiety indices each decreased.
○ Pre-test and post-test were conducted on 30 users of the Dongdaemun-gu Family Center before and after the stress relief design was applied.
○ The research results demonstrated that applying stress-relieving design to counseling spaces has a significant effect in alleviating users' stress and improving their resistance and coping skills against stress.
□ The Seoul Metropolitan Government first opened the ‘Mind Garden’ model by applying it to a total of 5 locations: 2 locations in Gangseo Orang, Seoul Youth Center, 1 location each in Dongdaemun-gu Family Center, Guro-gu Family Center, and Seoul Senior Counseling Center. The previous counseling room, which was close to a ‘conference room’ with a cold, office-like atmosphere, was transformed into a ‘counseling space’ that citizens wanted to visit after the creation of the ‘Mind Garden’.
○ A counselor at Gangseo Orang, Seoul Youth Center, said, “After entering the counseling room, the clients were very surprised and seemed much more satisfied and comfortable with the counseling. They even expressed disappointment at the end of the counseling,” and “The moment they enter the mind garden, “Not only the clients but also the counselors, are immediately given the feeling of being in a special, warm, and safe space just by being in this space.”
□ Seoul City conducted a demand survey to expand ‘Mind Garden’ in 25 autonomous districts, and a total of 11 autonomous districts applied for 24 locations. This year, the city plans to distribute ‘Mind Gardens’ to more than 10 locations by providing subsidies to autonomous districts with a budget of 300 million won.
○ Various organizations that provide counseling services, such as mental health welfare centers, youth counseling centers, and family centers, applied, and most of them sincerely welcomed the news of the expansion of ‘Mind Gardens’ as they desperately need to improve the environment of counseling spaces due to poor environments.
□ Seoul City Design Policy Director Choi In-gyu said, “Seoul City will actively help citizens strengthen their mental health immunity and realize happy daily lives through design,” and added, “We will continue to expand and distribute ‘Mind Garden’ to enhance the branding of Seoul City’s counseling service.” “We will strengthen it,” he said.
