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On the threshold of hope: the design of alcohol and drug treatment facilities can support patients' recovery.

Article Excerpt
When a person makes the courageous decision to enter a drug and alcohol treatment facility, he/she is literally crossing a threshold from shame to hope. Architecture, landscaping, and interior design have the power to support a treatment program's goals through then-influence on patients' perceptions of care providers and themselves. A well-designed facility makes a subtle, yet profound, statement about the organization's commitment to treating the whole person--physically, emotionally, and spiritually--and its respect for patients' dignity and security. Design plays an equally important role in enabling the provider to adapt facilities in response to changes in patient populations and treatment programs, thereby supporting the organization's long-term financial success.

Several design principles, in particular, are key to supporting contemporary approaches to alcohol and drug treatment:

* Balance between privacy and public interaction

* Opportunities for fellowship and learning with peers

* Connections with the natural world

* Effective transition spaces between patient population spaces between patient populations at different points on the care continuum

* Appropriate gender separation

* Distinctions between the spaces for primary and extended care

* Flexibility for changes in patient populations

* Patient, staff, and visitor security

First impressions

The transition to treatment begins when the patient enters the site for the first time--the moment a person crosses from the world of addiction to the realm of hope. Patients and families form their first impressions of the facility upon registering. Using natural materials,...