Andrea Möhn is principal of AM_A Andrea Möhn Architects, an international architectural practice in Rotterdam. Her primary interest lies in the influence of the built environment on human behavior. Her multidisciplinary approach and research in this field has led to the realization of numerous healthcare buildings that have contributed to well-being and positive behavioral changes and has led to many publications and lectures around the world and international awards. Her close collaboration with both patient and users throughout the entire design process, have strongly shaped her work and approach over the past 28 years.

She teaches at he Delft University of Technology and the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam and is pursuing her Professional Doctorate at Hanze University on the topic of “Humane Architecture”. She serves on the board of EUI—Epidemic Urban Initiative an is a member of the HPH Taskforce for Health Promoting Built Environment.

How can (built) environments promote mental wellbeing in times of increasing psychosocial stress, help reduce stress and lead to a sense of wellbeing? How can empathy, inclusion and participation contribute to creating humane and thoughtfully designed environments and conditions that promote mental wellbeing, convey a sense of security and orientation, and offer opportunities for participation?

We experience architecture as our ‘third skin’. It has a direct influence on our well-being. Atmosphere, light, colour, acoustics and materials all play a crucial role in this. However, it is not enough simply to combine these factors. To achieve that subtle spatial effect that truly ‘moves’ us, it is necessary to perceive and understand the actual needs of the users. In this context, not only physical but also psychological needs are of great importance. Only when we understand the needs and identity of the users can we build accordingly for them.

People in hospitals and care homes are particularly sensitive to their built environment due to their vulnerable situation. If the environment does not meet their actual needs – such as the need for orientation, emotional security and self-determination – it can lead to restlessness, stress and misunderstood behaviour, whereas an environment with which users can identify creates a sense of well-being and contributes to healing.

The active involvement of users in participatory processes plays a crucial role in this. It leads to important insights, gives meaning to those involved and fosters users’ identification with ‘their’ building or space. When users are involved in the design process, it has been found that this leads to lower failure costs, a better working environment and a reduction in staff sick leave, positive experiences for visitors, and a sense of well-being and a healing effect for patients.

For years, Andrea Möhn has been researching, through her projects in the healthcare sector, the impact of empathetic architecture on users and the associated positive effects, including behavioural changes in people with mental health issues.

Good architecture can have a ‘healing’ effect.

Dr Ledia Lazeri is the Regional Adviser for Mental Health at the WHO Regional Office for Europe since May 2021. A native of Albania, she trained and worked as a psychiatrist in her home country, having contributed to the education of medical students and later to the national reform of mental health policy and services. Having joined WHO in 2000, Dr Lazeri worked in many countries of the WHO European Region, either leading mental health reform programmes or serving as the lead for bilateral technical cooperation between WHO and individual countries.

In her function as WHO Europe’s Regional Adviser for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Dr Lazeri leads a team dedicated to various areas of mental health work: building evidence and promoting research, developing policy and improving services, addressing stigma and discrimination from a human rights perspective, communication and advocacy, skills and capacity building, prevention of mental disorders and promotion of mental health.

Across the WHO European Region, the prevalence of mental health conditions has increased across all age groups, reflecting growing social, economic and demographic pressures throughout the life course. While mental ill‑health affects people of every generation, the steepest rise has been observed from pre‑adolescence through young adulthood. At the same time, later‑life transitions pose significant mental health risks: up to one in three older adults in the Region is socially isolated. Social disconnection in older age is associated with higher risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Within this broader context, the mental health of children and adolescents is deteriorating at an alarming pace. One in seven young people aged 0–19 years in the WHO European Region currently lives with a mental health condition. Adolescent girls are disproportionately affected, with one in four females aged 15–19 years experiencing a mental health condition, and 28% reporting loneliness compared with 13% of boys. Suicide remains the leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 years, with young men facing a threefold higher risk.

Behind these figures are young people navigating a rapidly changing world. Digitalisation, climate change, wars and conflict, and shifting social environments all shape their daily lives. Yet the places where children and adolescents spend most of their time—schools, homes, online spaces—are often not equipped to support their mental wellbeing. Policy and service gaps persist across the Region: one in five countries lacks dedicated child and youth mental health policies, and one in four lacks community based services. Treatment quality and access vary widely, underscoring the need for coordinated, evidence driven action.

This presentation will outline WHO/Europe’s response through a mental health in all policies approach, to strengthening mental health systems through various policy initiatives, data and evidence, service development, community engagement, human rights‑based, and across the life‑course.

Rickard Bracken is the Secretary General of Mind Sweden, a leading civil society organization dedicated to improving mental health and preventing suicide. With 30 years of experience in public health, social policy and civil-society leadership, he has worked extensively to strengthen evidence-based approaches to mental health promotion, crisis support and suicide prevention. At Mind, he oversees several national support services, including crisis helplines, digital peer-support platforms and knowledge dissemination initiatives that reach hundreds of thousands of people each year. Rickard has been a driving force behind the development of new models that integrate lived experience as a part of an evidence-based practices and as a way to reduce stigma related to mental health.

Civil society plays a crucial and often underestimated role in advancing mental health promotion and suicide prevention. In Sweden, Mind operates several national support services, including crisis helplines, digital peer-support forums, and targeted initiatives for young people, adults and older persons. Every year, these services generate more than 80,000 conversations with individuals in acute distress or vulnerable life situations. These interactions form a unique source of real-time insight into emerging mental health challenges, barriers to care, and the lived experience of suicidal thoughts and emotional crisis.

This keynote will explore how civil society organizations can meaningfully complement health systems by providing low‑threshold emotional support, fostering community-based resilience, and engaging volunteers as an essential resource in suicide prevention. Drawing on learnings from Mind’s services, the presentation will highlight three central components:

1. Accessible crisis support – how anonymous helplines and chat services function as an early, preventative layer that catches individuals who might otherwise fall through the gaps of the formal care system;
2. Digital peer-support communities – how moderated online forums can reduce isolation, strengthen coping strategies, and reach populations that rarely seek help through traditional channels;
3. Systematic knowledge generation – how large volumes of anonymized conversations can be responsibly analyzed to identify trends, risk factors, and unmet needs, thereby informing policymakers, practitioners and public health strategies.

The keynote will also discuss challenges and opportunities related to volunteer‑based support models, digital accessibility, and ethical data use. By integrating lived experience, community engagement and technological innovation, civil society can make mental health support more human-centered, timely and inclusive.

The presentation will conclude by outlining how collaborations between health systems and civil society actors can accelerate progress toward more responsive and equitable mental health support structures—ultimately contributing to better outcomes for individuals and communities.