TIFFANIE MARTEAU BLOOM WELLNESS CLINIC

The Bloom Wellness Clinic aims to attend to young patients with substance abuse or dysregulated eating issues, and those with mood and anxiety disorders. To best serve these patients, the clinic must act as a place of sanctuary while destigmatizing the negative connotations that are associated with mental illness. The incorporation of the salutogenic model into the design, salutogenesis being the study of how people’s life experiences affect how they deal with stressors, allows for the controlling and lessening of stressors to better patient health rather than “making an ill patient well.” This type of design prioritizes the mental state of patients as a means of facilitating recovery. The concept that drives this clinic’s design is Hygge. This is a Danish concept of being in a mental state marked by coziness and togetherness. By adopting this concept as the underlying design principle of the Bloom Wellness Clinic, the clinic will become a place of rest and refuge for all staff, patients, and caregivers. Emotions of empathy and individuality will be expressed through the universal usability of the space, along with user-controlled amenities to allow occupants the reassurance of feeling welcomed. Simple signage and clear sightlines will be used to ease the wayfinding experience to decrease feelings of stress, anxiety, or confusion. Overall, the clinic will be a safe space for all occupants to come together to support and uplift those working towards the common goal of positive change in patient health.