At the Design in Mental Health Network (DiMHN), we believe that thoughtful, inclusive, and evidence-based design in mental health environments has the power to transform lives.
Founded in 2006, DiMHN is a registered charity and the only UK organisation solely dedicated to improving mental healthcare environments through better design.
We are a diverse Network of professionals with expertise rooted in lived experience research, clinical practice, architecture, lived experience, and design. As a collective, we are involved in planning, designing, building, managing, and delivering services in spaces that impact our mental health.
What unites us is a shared belief: good design, truly co-produced with those it serves, leads to better mental health outcomes.
DiMHN emerged from a collective determination to do better.
Designers, manufacturers, clinicians, and people with lived experience had a shared frustration: mental health environments are too often created without a true understanding of their impact on therapeutic outcomes.
This diverse group of stakeholders started working together across professions, perspectives, and experiences to challenge the status quo and drive meaningful change.
Together, we can transform mental health design and its impact on therapeutic outcomes.
Our Vision: Good design and genuine co-production lead to the realisation of human value.
Our purpose is to improve mental health outcomes through better design.
We do this by sharing good practice, promoting inclusive approaches, and disseminating evidence-based research to inform the design of mental health environments. Rooted in lived experience and real-world evidence, our work raises awareness of how design can influence mental wellbeing.
Together, we champion co-production, drive innovation, and help create environments to meet the needs of those who use and provide mental health care.
Together, we can make a difference in mental health design and its impact on therapeutic outcomes.
Through design, we can help change lives.
“DIMHN gives me the opportunity to learn, share, challenge, and develop my understanding of the constraints and opportunities presented by Mental Health design. Uniquely, DIMHN has created an ecosystem of clinicians, designers, service users, manufacturers and constructors, and a platform to allow parallel and contemporaneous thinking in the development of healthier, people-centric approaches to be shared for the benefit of all.”
We collaborate with organisations delivering mental health support and services, product manufacturers, designers, architects, academic institutions, technologists, service users, and international partners. We also work closely with standards bodies and testing organisations, including the Building Research Establishment (BRE), to improve the quality and safety of products used in mental health settings .
We lead the Informed Choices initiative in partnership with BRE to ensure products used in mental health environments are rigorously and independently tested, improving safety, reliability, and patient outcomes.
Through our acclaimed “Design with People in Mind’ book series, of ten books and counting, we translate cutting-edge research into practical guidance on topics such as sound, seclusion, nature, art, and international design perspectives.
We also publish “The Network”, our quarterly magazine. It’s where ideas come together, from on-the-ground insights to expert commentary, member stories to sector innovation. The magazine keeps our community informed, inspired, and connected to the evolving landscape of mental health design.
Become a member to access these resources.
We are actively exploring opportunities to expand our global impact, starting with North America.
DiMHN is currently collaborating with a growing network of architects and healthcare leaders in the United States and Canada to establish strong connections and promote our shared commitment to enhancing mental health outcomes through improved design.
We invite organisations worldwide to reach out and explore partnership opportunities.
DiMHN is proud of our annual Design in Mental Health Conference and Exhibition, the UK’s leading event dedicated to mental health environments.
The conference is organised and delivered by Step Exhibitions Ltd, a professional events company. As an independent charity, DiMHN’s partnership with Step Exhibitions is governed by a formal agreement. Income generated through this partnership directly supports our charitable activities.
DiMHN plays a central role in shaping the conference content to ensure it aligns closely with our purpose and values.
We are committed to transparency in all our partnerships. If you have any questions about our relationship with Step Exhibitions or any other aspect of our work, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Our commercial and corporate members benefit from exclusive discounts and advertising opportunities as part of their membership.
Design in Mental Health Network (DiMHN), in partnership with Step Exhibitions, is proud to bring Design for Healthcare Environments Ireland (DHEI), a new conference and exhibition dedicated to improving mental health, intellectual disability (ID), and autism environments through thoughtful, co-produced, and evidence-informed design.
This will take place at the RDS in Dublin on 29th and 30th September 2026. It will provide practical solutions, innovative approaches, evidence-informed design, and co-produced strategies to support care environments to be safer and more therapeutic.
Get to know the passionate, skilled individuals behind our vision.
Want to learn more about membership?
Join us in shaping the future of mental health environments through good design.
Become an individual or corporate member today.
Ahead of Design for Healthcare Environments Ireland, Senior Registrar in Psychiatry, and former HSE Spark National NCHD Innovation Fellow Dr Caoimhe Glancy believes one of
Children’s Health Ireland’s Dehlia McCarthy and Paul Hendrick believe the most effective healthcare environments aren’t created through assumptions or technology alone, but by listening to
This September, healthcare leaders, clinicians, estates professionals, designers and people with lived experience will come together to explore how better environments can improve safety, dignity,
