Healing Behind Secure Walls: Forensic Hospital Design Global Conference

Healing Behind Secure Walls: Global Forensic Hospital Design Conference

October 1–2, 2026

Welcome to the Healing Behind Secure Walls: Global Forensic Hospital Design Conference, an engaging two-day international gathering exploring how thoughtfully designed environments can support healing, recovery, and well-being in forensic mental health settings.

Hosted at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this unique event will bring together clinicians, architects, designers, researchers, planners, policymakers, and individuals with lived experience to rethink how spaces can better support care, safety, and dignity.

Forensic psychiatric hospitals care for individuals who are Unfit to Stand Trial (UST) or Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD). These environments must balance treatment, recovery, and security—an ongoing challenge for healthcare providers and designers alike. Historically, many psychiatric facilities were built with institutional and restrictive models in mind. However, emerging research increasingly shows that well-designed therapeutic environments can significantly improve mental health outcomes, reduce distress, and support recovery-oriented care.

The Healing Behind Secure Walls: Forensic Care Design International Conference will explore how architecture, design, and clinical practice can work together to create more humane, inclusive, and effective environments within secure psychiatric settings.

Across two days of lively discussion and collaboration, participants will explore key questions such as:

• How does the design of space influence patient recovery and staff well-being in secure psychiatric environments?
• What evidence-based design approaches can reduce negative outcomes such as aggression, isolation, and restraints?
• How can architects, clinicians, policymakers, and people with lived experience collaborate to shape future therapeutic environments?

Conference Highlights

Participants can expect an engaging and interactive program that includes:

• Keynote presentations from international experts in architecture, mental health, and forensic psychiatry
• Panel discussions exploring topics such as ethics, security, and therapeutic design in forensic settings
• Co-creation workshops where participants collaborate to imagine and design therapeutic environments
• Breakout sessions focused on research, policy development, and lived experience perspectives
• Networking opportunities to build partnerships and support future research, innovation, and funding

Whether you are a seasoned professional or simply curious about the intersection of health, design, and human experience, this conference offers an opportunity to learn, share ideas, and contribute to shaping the future of therapeutic environments.

Expected Outcomes

The conference aims to generate meaningful dialogue and practical outcomes that will inform research, policy, and practice. Key goals include:

• Strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across psychiatry, architecture, design, policy, and lived experience
• Identifying best practices for ethical and effective use of space in secure mental health settings
• Informing future capital planning, service design, and innovation in forensic mental health facilities
• Embedding trauma-informed and person-centered approaches in the design of secure environments
• Supporting education and capacity-building for early-career professionals and emerging researchers
• Stimulating new research on spatial interventions, co-design, and long-term outcomes
• Generating policy-relevant recommendations that support reforms aligned with human rights and clinical effectiveness

Attend In Person or Online

Participants may attend in person at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, or virtually via the Webex platform, making the conference accessible to both local and international audiences.

Join us to connect with a global community of thinkers and practitioners, exchange ideas, and explore how the spaces we design can play a powerful role in improving health, safety, and recovery.

Info: Discover how technology is transforming forensic mental health care in this forward-looking presentation on forensic smart hospitals. Focusing on secure psychiatric settings, the session will explore how smart systems—including real-time monitoring, electronic health records, automated risk alerts, and predictive analytics—enhance patient care, safety, and therapeutic outcomes.

Attendees will learn how these technologies support clinicians in managing complex patient needs, reduce patient distress and incidents, and improve clinical decision-making. The presentation will also examine the impact of digital innovation on patient engagement and individualized treatment planning, while addressing important ethical considerations such as privacy, autonomy, and data security.

This session shows how technology and clinical expertise combine to create safer, responsive, and patient-centered forensic environments.

Info: Safety, Competence and Personalization: Reframing Forensic Psychiatric Environment through Design. This session examines forensic psychiatric environments through architecture and healthcare planning, introducing the SCP framework—Safety, Competence, and Personalisation—as a way to understand key tensions in service design.
It explores how the built environment actively shapes behaviour, care delivery, and recovery, balancing safety and risk management with dignity, autonomy, and therapeutic engagement.
Key themes include:

The evolution of forensic care models and spatial design

The role of architecture in safety and security

Supporting rehabilitation and progression through design

Personalisation, dignity, and choice in secure settings

Impact of space on staff practice and multidisciplinary care

Designing future forensic facilities with a balanced approach

Overall, it positions the environment as a core component of effective and humane forensic psychiatric care.

Info: Francis (Frank) Pitts, a globally recognized leader in psychiatric facility design, will present case studies from over 300 projects across the United States and Canada, encompassing more than 20,000 mental health beds. This session will highlight key lessons from exemplary hospitals, demonstrate how research evidence informs hospital design, and discuss national standards for the design and construction of healthcare facilities. Attendees will gain practical insights into evidence-based design practices for behavioral health settings.

Info: Explore how inpatient psychiatric facilities are designed and operated across different countries in this insightful presentation. The session will focus particularly on forensic settings, highlighting how variations in architectural design, spatial layout, green space integration, and security infrastructure reflect distinct cultural, ethical, and legal approaches to mental health care and public safety.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how some countries prioritize rehabilitation and therapeutic environments, while others emphasize containment and risk management. By examining these international differences, the presentation will reveal how the built environment shapes patient outcomes, staff well-being, and ethical standards of care, offering a clear view of the interplay between national policy, facility design, and approaches to forensic mental health treatment.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

McCain Complex Care & Recovery Building - Auditorium, 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto, Canada

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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