Beyond Basics: Better Practices and Pitfalls for Behavioral Health

AIAU26-AAH08

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1 LU|HSW

Live course date: 11/10/2026 | 02:00 PM

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Description

Mental and behavioral health is an often stigmatized and misunderstood area of healthcare design. Too often, safety comes at the expense of serenity, risk reduction is prioritized over recovery, and spaces described as deinstitutionalized still miss opportunities to advance dignity through design.

This course introduces better practices for inpatient mental health planning and design for professionals ranging from emerging practitioners to senior medical planners. Participants will explore the VA Inpatient Mental Health Design Guide, a resource of more than 500 pages containing over 30 room templates, planning diagrams, and detailed discussion of the clinical models that influence behavioral health environments. The program will demonstrate how thoughtful planning and design decisions can balance safety, dignity, recovery, and caregiver needs.

Learning Objectives

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Compare mental and behavioral health planning approaches and explain how they support patient recovery, dignity, and well-being.

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Identify safety, operational, and environmental constraints affecting the planning of inpatient psychiatric facilities.

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Analyze behavioral health unit design challenges and select planning solutions that reduce risk while supporting patients and caregivers.

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Apply guidance from the VA Inpatient Mental Health Design Guide to improve safety, therapeutic outcomes, and the human experience in mental health facilities.

Presented in partnership with the Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH).

Instructors

Thomas Bahr

AIA, NCARB, EDAC, WELL AP, LEED AP BD+C, LSSYB

Thomas has over 19 years of architectural experience with a specialized focus on healthcare design. Thomas is currently a Principal at BSA and is committed to creating inspired solutions that improve lives by fostering health, wellness, and productivity. His journey in architecture has been driven by a passion for creating sustainable buildings and spaces that enhance the lives of their occupants and support the vital work they do. Thomas has a Bachelor of Architecture from Drury University and is currently co-chair of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health Webinar Committee, chair of the AIA St. Louis Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program for 2025-2026 and is a board member of the Missouri SAVE Coalition.

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Stephen Parker

AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP

Stephen Parker, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP, is an architect and internationally recognized expert in mental and behavioral health facility design.

With more than 15 years of experience designing healthcare environments, Stephen co-led the Mental + Behavioral Health practice at Stantec from 2021-2026, and now serves as Chief Design Officer at Sage Collaborative, an independent design consultancy.

His work spans the Arctic to Australasia and includes sensory spaces for students, autism centers for children and behavioral health facilities serving a wide range of populations. His clients have included Cleveland Clinic and Kaiser Permanente.

Stephen's professional recognition includes Healthcare Design magazine's Healthcare Architect of the Year, Engineering News-Record's National Top Young Professional, RIBA Rising Star and Behavioral Health Business Future Leader. He was also named to Healthcare Design's Best Under 40 list by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health.

He was the youngest architect elected to the AIA Strategic Council, where he championed its Mental Health and Architecture Incubator during the pandemic. He also co-authored the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Inpatient Mental Health Design Guide and has contributed to design standards for health systems across North America.

Stephen serves on Johns Hopkins University's Arts + Minds Lab Intentional Spaces Initiative, supporting greater research rigor in neurospatial, neuroarchitecture and neuroaesthetic design. His published research includes work on adolescent crisis environments, Sensory-Enabled Architecture (SEA) and other mental health environments in the United States and United Kingdom.

Stephen was appointed by the AIA President to the International Union of Architects' Public Health Group. He is an elected Board Associate of the Design in Mental Health Network and a founding member of its North American chapter.

He is also a founding member of The Center for Health Design's Behavioral and Mental Health Environment Network, a member of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) and the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP), a Pathfinder Fellow with the Centre for Conscious Design and a practitioner with the Trauma-Informed Design Society.

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