11/2/2015
SEMINAR ROLE OF ARCHITECTURE IN REHABILITATION OF ADDICTION/ DRUG ABUSE
Architecture’s role in
Rehabilitation of Addiction/ Drug Abuse.
ABSTRACT Drug addiction nowadays is common in almost one in three persons we met and its affecting large part of age group of young teenagers giving birth to unwanted crimes, causing problems in your relationship and social life. As a result person lost his/her ability to maintain his status in community and live a normal life. As a human being, they have the rights to be rehabilitated as the best way in rebuilding their individual and social life. The purpose of this study is to learn about Drug abuse, behaviour of the abuser and the spatial behaviour of an individual with the habit of drug abuse/ addiction and how architecture can be used as a tool for rehabilitation. Architecture could be a part of recovery process in the curing of drug abuse and addiction. Healing architecture helps people to restore and relieve their mind and soul that affect the body through access to the built form and spatial analysis. Lighting and colours has its own effect on individual to individual, with reducing direct sunlight and promoting natural day lighting through means of architecture interventions and also spatial behaviour has its own role, like a room with no plastering and a room with proper finishing can change the mood of an individual dramatically. Aesthetics plays a major role in swinging the mood of a person. Drug abuser has its own psychological problems and depends on the Drug abuse. Those problems effect the way of designing the building and landscape. The principles of healing architecture can solve those problems and create the design concepts. The healing architecture design concepts are outlined in the landscape design, masses placement, and interior design. Larger courtyards senses as an open air multipurpose gathering space. The various atmosphere of the spaces with the harmony of nature could be the solution for psychological problem. Organic pattern from healing architecture creating the environment to be an architecture design that heals. Incorporation of natural system with respect to design in the day to day activities of an individual can play a key role in changing the mindset of a person. Sense of privacy should be provided to the person by means of built environment.
Keywords: Rehabil it ation, T herapeuti c D esign, landscape, h uman perf ormance, bui lt envir onment, Kinesthetics
INTRODUCTION Drug addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time create an intense impulse to take drugs. It is because of these changes in the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications, if available, with behavioural therapy and community support is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient's drug abuse patterns and any concurrent medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drugs.
Problems related to substance use:
Neglecting responsibilities at workplace, school, colleges or at home like skipping your tuition classes, low performance academically and sta ying away or alone for most of the time.t do you think?
It results in indifferences in relationships of an individual such as fights with your family members or your partner, losing a good ol d friend etc. do you think?
Change in behavioral attitude such as not being the same person when being with friends or family or partner. What do you think?
Losing temper easily and getting into nasty things for petty issues. What do you think?
Frequently getting into fights, accidents and illegal activities. What do you think?
Lack of motivation, feeling lethargic. What do you think?
Anxiety and Irritation.
FACTORS THAT LEAD TO DRUG USE:
Peer pressure
For performance enhancement
Curiosity
Social pressure
Influence of role models and so on.
Chief among these are ignorance of the facts about addiction and the potency of drugs, and the complacency about the danger of drugs.
Drug Types:
There was a perception in all the communities, both from key informants and respondents that there had been an increase in substance use. The five most commonly used substances, in order of frequency of use included:
Alcohol
Heroin
Opium (including crude opium resin, opium pod husk‘doda’)
Cannabis (as ganja, charas, hashish, bhang, marihuana)
Other Opiates
CAUSES OF ADDICTION:
Doctors say there is a link between the repeated uses of an addictive substance and how the human brain experiences pleasure - its use has a nice reward, leading to further and more frequent use. The addictive substance, be it nicotine, alcohol or some drug actually causes physical changes in some nerve cells in the brain. Another name for a nerve cell is a neuron. Neurons release neurotransmitters into the synapses (empty spaces) between nerve cells, which are received by receptors in other neurons.
Neurotransmitter - it is a chemical that a nerve cell releases, which thereby transmits an (electric) impulse from one nerve cell to another nerve cell, organ, muscle, or other tissue. Put simply, a neurotransmitter is a messenger of neurologic data from one cell to another cell.
After a while, the user of the potentially addictive substance does not get the same pleasure and has to increase the dose - his/her body’s tolerance to it increases. Eventually, the user no longer experiences pleasure from the substance and takes it simply to prevent withdrawal symptoms - taking the substance just makes them feel normal. Experts say that when tolerance increases, the risk of addiction is much greater.
IMPACTS
Underage drinking is a causal factor in a host of problems, including homicide, high risk sex, suicide, traumatic injury, drowning, burns, violent and property crime, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning, and the need for treatment for alcohol abuse and dependence.
Tragic health, social, and economic problems often result from substance abuse by adolescents. Substance abuse is a causal factor in a host of problems, including homicide, suicide, high risk sex, traumatic injury, drowning, burns, violent and property crime, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning, and the need for treatment for substance abuse and dependence
SCENARIOS
Modern rehabilitation facilities are synonymous with the prison system, in the way in which they function by isolating individuals from the general public in order to rehabilitate them. However, the exact opposite is accomplished as the isolated institutional atmosphere only delays rehabilitation and consequently creates patients that come to be a replication of their environment. Past and present models of healing centers advocate the isolation of people from society with the intention of replacing the undesirable distractions associated with an urban lifestyle with the more desirable effects of a rural one, which is believed to increase the rate of healing.
However, the disorientation and confusion created by removing and isolating a patient from their everyday life and environment ultimately challenges the permanency of treatment success. The environmental conditions of a healing space, when compared to a patient’s home, are understandably different, and this disparity often results in a patient associating their ‘rehabilitated self’ with the center where they received treatment, and their ‘un -rehabilitated self’ with their home, creating future psychological imbalances that in many cases result in addiction relapse.
Throughout history, people have sought to escape the stresses associated with urban living. This desire to escape the busy urban conditions of cities is still very much a reality today in providing a mental retreat for relaxation and the opportunity to psychologically rebalance. This further demonstrates our human desire to be close to nature and the necessity of a healing environment within an urban context
BACKGROUND
Therapeutic Environment theory stems from the fields of environmental psychology (the psychosocial effects of environment), psychoneuroimmunology (the effects of environment on the immune system), and neuroscience (how the brain perceives architecture). Patients in a healthcare facility are often fearful and uncertain about their health, their safety, and their isolation from normal social relationships. The large, complex environment of a typical hospital further contributes to the stressful situation. Stress can cause a person's immune system to be suppressed, and can dampen a person's emotional and spiritual resources, impeding recovery and healing. Healthcare architects, interior designers, and researchers have identified four key factors which, if applied in the design of a healthcare environment, can measurably improve patient outcomes:
Reduce or eliminate environmental stressors
Provide positive distractions
Enable social support
Therapeutic Architecture
Give a sense of control
Architecture plays a vital role in all professions, not only in providing an conducive physical environment within which the practice of such professions are carried out but also in arresting the psychological environment which affects the perception and response of the people concerned.
Architecture as a rehabilitative tool is cantered on the psychology of the structures environment as a therapeutic tool. Architectural spaces constitute a major element of the psychology which exerts a profound effect of the emotional well-being of the people who experience them. The social and therapeutic interaction of people within such spaces also exerts an effect on each individual’s self esteem. There are two ways of characterizing environment in architecture: 1. The objective environment-
This includes all identifiable physical and social factors. 2. The psychological environment-
Which consists of those aspects of the objective environment which a person comes into contact with and which affects his perceptions and responses.
THE ROLE OF THERAPEUTIC ARCHITECTURE: The term therapeutic architecture has evolved into a recognised concept as a reaction against the austerity of modern treatment facilities. This concept embodies the vision of well-designed architectural spaces that encourage healing and human wellbeing. The concept does not propose that the architecture itself has the ability to heal, but that the architectural manipulation of space can provide the platform for other natural factors like sound, light, colour, privacy, views, and even smell to promote a healing environment that effects the physical and psychological healing of patients. The 21th century, with its rapid technological advancements and the fast paced evolution of medical science in combination with the architectural focus primarily on functionality and rationality has in many cases resulted in our inhumane “healing” environments .
EFFECTS OF LIGHT, SHADOW AND COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY Natural light and the sun’s rays are recognised as elements capa ble of promoting healing and thus should form an integral part of the design of buildings constructed specifically for rehabilitation. Benedetti has proved that patients exposed to an amplified concentration of natural sunlight perceive less stress, require less medication and even experience less pain. Sunlight can also be
perceived as a form of psychological motivation in its utilisation in the creation of a healthy, therapeutic environment. The balance or imbalance of a space can so easily be altered through the play of light and always in combination with forms, colours and natural elements. The quality of light can be manipulated and adapted to ultimately create the ability of transcending individuals into an alternate state of consciousness that could essentially be recollected in memory, after its lived experience. LIGHT AND SHADOW
Light and particularly the life-giving rays of the sun, have been well documented as a major determinant of vitality and wellbeing, more so in therapeutic environments where such positive natural stimulants can go a long way towards developing the desired attitude to individual change. In therapeutic architecture therefore, the way sunlight is utilized is one of the factors in creating a healthy environment and psychological motivation. The way the corridors are lit, the way the windows are placed throughout the building to reflect warmth and how light and shadow appears in the space, can affect the balance or imbalance of rooms, always in conjunction with color, shape, interior design and landscape features. Once again it’s all about the way the senses perc eive the surrounding environment, the degree that space resonates with the individual self. Marilyne Andersen of MIT is amongst a group of young architects and researchers who have become increasingly aware of the importance of incorporating sunlight in building design.
For
Day,
sunlight is a great part of the
spirit
place
of and
directly associated with physical and psychological health. It’s all about energy and mood and how it positively connects people with their environment, particularly so when it comes to a long and arduous process of self-healing, such as in addict therapeutic communities. Daylight is also closely associated with kinesthesis and as Day argues, natural light through what he calls interactive directions, constantly changes the colors and shadow dynamic, stimulating the eye, which is
essentially for health, Leibrock offers a host of ideas on how public areas in treatment centers can become more sensory-positive, for example waiting areas, as she points out, where patients and their families will feel more comfortable when provided access to nature and natural light. This can be achieved with the waiting area (or for example group therapy areas in the case of therapeutic communities), being designed in an atrium or adjacent to a courtyard. What is clear to Leibrock is that natural light deinstitutionalizes and humanizes the space, making residents feel they are not enclosed, but receiving therapy in a home-like environment, more so in terms of therapy.
COLOR PSYCHOLOGY
Color psychology has also been identified as a tool capable of improving human behavior, moods and emotions. Architecture and colour have the ability to visually stimulate patients and the surrounding society; this can provoke and elevate positive or negative emotions. These emotions are triggered through our mental perceptions of colors in relation to the association of these colors with certain past personal events or cultural beliefs. Society’s emotional response to color is based on shared psychological associations of certain emotions to certain colors. Architecture should integrate the power of colour into modern healing environments to evoke and stimulate certain emotional responses and use it as a tool to manipulate and control the experience of space as desired.
ROLE OF KINESTHETICS AND LANDSCAPE IN REHABILITATION: The sense of movement in a space, deriving from the combination of the Greek words ‘kinisi’ and ‘aisthisi’ has been said to affect the way the individual reacts to the building, how it marks their
behaviour, mood, how it creates and maintains a positive or negative attitude to the particular situation they are facing. Architecture can become a strong determinant in the successful kinesthetics of individuals, particularly in the case of people with psychological imbalances such as drug addicts, who have joined therapeutic communities seeking to regain the peace of their inner self in order to build or regain their social identity. So the way they are able to physically interact with their surroundings, the kinesthetics of human bodies, can be said to be decisive in how they adapt to their daily routine in a group community.
COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION: Community Based Rehabilitation refers to a specific integrated model of treatment for people affected by drug use and dependence in the community which provides a continuum of care from outreach and low threshold services, through detoxification and stabilization to aftercare and integration, including maintenance pharmacotherapy. It involves the coordination of a number of health, social and other no specialist services needed to meet the patient’s needs. Strong support is also given to the patient’s family and the community to address the drug and alcohol problems in their complexity and to ensure efficient and long-term results. Some of the benefits of community-based treatment include the following: • It is a less invasive approach than other treatments (e.g. Residential, hospitaliza tion, intensive treatments, etc.) • It facilitates patient’s access to treatment . • It is less disrupting of family, working and social life • It focuses on social integration from the beginning • It is appealing for patients • It is more flexible than other modalities of treatment • It fosters patient’s independence in patients´ natural environment • It is affordable for patients, families and the community • It educates the community to reduce stigma • It focuses on community empowerment .
FINDINGS
Lighting and Views
Patient rooms looking out on sunshine, rather than cloudy or drab conditions are linked with more favorable outcomes. The study found that patients if assigned to a lighter room rather than room without appropriate lights. Questionnaire studies indicate that patients prefer window views of spaces illuminated by sunlight rather than cloudy conditions. Window and views from a window are believed to have an effect on patient recovery.
Photometric and glare study
Design spaces with multiple sources of lighting.
Create transition zones for spaces or within a space.
Do not rely solely on the objective index of quantity of light, but also consider the subjective human visual comfort.
Creation of transition zones is advantageous for both window and space designs.
DISCUSSION
A review on the study of daylight in Therapeutic design as discussed in, provides unequivocal evidence to suggest that the physical aspects play an important role in the subject of healing environment in rehabilitation. Poor considerations may have an effect indirectly on the health outcomes of patients. On the contrary, creating a healing environment would contribute to eliminate the stress factor for patients. Therefore, the study of daylight in hospital buildings is pertinent and significant to enhance the body of knowledge in the field of architectural building science. On the other hand, the subject of healing environment requires a multidisciplinary approach and in-depth understanding of various disciplines. Architecturally, critical analyses on the conflicting issues: physical to physical (e.g. daylight versus solar heat gain) and physical to psychological (daylight vs. undesirable glare) aspects are important and within the scope of the study. Achieving the balance and compromise on these aspects would satisfy the appropriate ambient environment of healing.
What do you th
CONCLUSION: Architecture now needs to change and adapt its traditional perceptions of institutionalization to create an environment that stimulates all the human senses and deviates from the past disapproved approaches of institutional design. We need to integrate reh abilitation into our city’s fabrics to be part of society, generating community interaction and promoting a social environment. Therapeutic architecture Approach has to be explored with the use of kinesthetics and community based rehabilitation. Landscape has to be incorporated with the built form of the structure creating buffer zones, private spaces and social spaces. RESULTS
Rehabilitation plays an important role in a person’s life to live a normal healthy life.
How a person performs to a built environment is the key to the therapeutic architecture approach.
Architecture can help a person rehabilitate by the means of understanding the needs and spatial behavior of an individual.
Artwork and aesthetics can enhance the soothing and calming qualities of a space.
Reduction of environmental stresses and creation of a social environment can be achieved with the help of healing architecture.
Landscape can also be used for a therapeutic (healing) environment.
References Aiello, J. (1987). Human Spatial Behavior . Altman, D. S. (1987). In Handbook of Environmental psychology (pp. 385-504). New York. Art Therapy and Drug Abuse- A personal perspective . (2015, august 22). Retrieved from http://www.ava-charney-danysh.com/drug_abuse.html Chalfoun, N. (2008). Basic principles and Concepts of lighting .
Cynthia, l. A. (2000). Design details for Health: Making the most of Interior Design's Healing potential. Wiley Series in Healthcare and Senior Living Design . Day, C. (2002). therapeutic architecture. Spirit and place: Healing Our Environment. Service Standards for addiction Therapeutic communities . (2015, august 21). Retrieved from Royal college of Psychiatrists: http://www.drugslibrary.stir.ac.uk/documents/tc.servicestandards.ed1.pdf Warren, B. (2000). addiction. Rehabilitation and education village for young drug addicts.
