With just days to go until Design in Mental Health, anticipation is building for what promises to be one of the sector’s most important gatherings yet.
Taking place on 2–3 June at Coventry Building Society Arena, the event brings together clinicians, estates professionals, architects, designers, policymakers, suppliers and lived experience experts to explore how better environments can support better mental health outcomes.
A powerful new keynote added
The keynote programme frames this year’s conference, bringing together influential voices from across healthcare, policy, regulation and lived experience to explore the future of mental health environments.
We’re proud announce the recent addition of Claire Goodwin-Fee. With more than 20 years’ experience supporting mental health and emotional wellbeing and having helped lead psychological support initiatives for over one million NHS and frontline workers through Frontline19, Claire brings a uniquely informed and compassionate perspective to the conversation.
Her session will examine how shame can quietly manifest behind professionalism, perfectionism and the pressure to cope, often leading to emotional exhaustion, withdrawal and self-criticism. Drawing on frontline experience, psychological insight and real-world stories, Claire will challenge attendees to rethink how wellbeing is understood and supported within healthcare settings.
For many attending Design in Mental Health, particularly those working under increasing operational and emotional pressures, this session will resonate deeply. While the event’s central focus remains on improving environments for patients and service users, Claire’s keynote is a timely reminder that the wellbeing of the people delivering care must also remain a priority.
Attendees can expect not only honest and thought-provoking discussion, but also practical strategies to support healthier teams, more compassionate leadership and emotionally sustainable workplace cultures.
Keynotes that challenge, inform and inspire
Claire joins a line up of five other keynote leaders from NHS England, NHS Alliance, the Care Quality Commission and Design in Mental Health Network, reflecting some of the sector’s most pressing priorities, from clinical strategy and inclusive digital transformation to regulation, operational pressures and the realities of delivering change across the NHS.
Professor Prathiba Chitsabesan, National Clinical Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Chair of the Clinical Reference Group at NHS England, will explore Children and Young People's Mental Health: National Policy and Strategy.
Max Marulli de Barletta, Inclusive Design Lead for NHS Digital Transformation at NHS England, is presenting Inclusive Design in (Digital) Mental Health: We Aren’t There Yet.
Laura Baker, Deputy Director of Mental Health at the Care Quality Commission, is joined by Raf Hamaizia, Group Expert by Experience Lead at Cygnet and Board Trustee at Design in Mental Health Network to discuss Safe, Compassionate and Effective Care and the Value of Environment – Reflections from a lived experience and CQC perspective.
And Rebecca Grey, Director of the Mental Health Network at NHS Alliance, will be addressing Mental Health in the NHS: the Tension Between Operating Priorities and Ambitions for Transformation.
Together, the keynote sessions provide attendees with a unique opportunity to hear directly from the people shaping policy, influencing standards and driving transformation across mental healthcare.
Alongside the keynote programme, Design in Mental Health features more than 20 hours of conference content, a major specialist exhibition, dedicated networking opportunities and the Design in Mental Health Awards.
Bringing together the full community to provide a vital platform for collaboration, innovation and shared learning across the mental health-built environment.
As the sector continues to evolve, take this unique opportunity to connect, learn and reflect on the role environments, and the people within them, play in shaping better outcomes for all.
For more information and to register, visit: www.designinmentalhealth.com