Residential Spaces Can Convey a Sense of Community

Patients in recovery from illness value the feeling of belonging to a community with shared experiences. The importance of community has driven many recent trends in healthcare, including the emergence of peer support as an essential component of many health disciplines. We at Furniture Concepts have these same ideas in mind when designing living spaces that encourage patient interaction and limit isolation. A growing body of research suggests the significant impact peers can have on patient wellness. Reviews of behavioral health studies have found that while clinical care and peer support have about the same effect on clinical outcomes, peers make a greater contribution when looking at measures of long-term recovery. Many treatment programs have responded by integrating peer support into their menu of services. Patients welcome the opportunity to share their stories with people who have had similar lived experiences. This applies to their fellow patients as well as a program’s trained peer specialists. Your facility design should reinforce this desire to share, by supporting spaces that encourage group support. Our Safe Harbor Collection humanizes the institutional setting and creates a home-like feel that eases patient anxiety. The durable products in the collection’s distinctive Cove, Regatta and Natura lines can be easily configured to encourage group interaction and to build a healing community in any facility. “People really feel better when they know they are not alone and that other people understand and share their experiences,” psychotherapist Hilary Jacobs Hendel, author of the book It’s Not Always Depression, said in a Psychiatry Advisor article. Patients who feel part of a community gain strength from their engagement, learning from others as they exchange strategies for coping with the challenges of daily life. Let us partner with you to design environments of care where patients know they are valued and supported. Subscribe to our Blog! View The Safe Harbor Catalog