Healing Architecture: Equine Healing Centre

Abstract

There are approximately 375 million people that suffer from mental disorders or mental illnesses in the world, which can cause severe psychological problems and mental illnesses in general. it is, however, an unfortunate fact that many of these patients go undiagnosed and untreated as a result of the stigma that surrounds mental illness and prevents them from seeking help. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, mental illness is not considered to be a serious problem by the majority of people. Since the stigma associated with mental illness in Saudi Arabia is high, there are no accurate statistics on the number of people diagnosed with mental illness there. Mental illness in this country is stigmatized by many people, which causes many people to avoid seeking treatment from psychiatrists. The research found that stigma was the most common reason delaying psychiatric visits since 96% of the population believes that people who suffer from illnesses of the mind are mad and therefore have weak personalities as a result of such illnesses and psychological problems. This underlines the crucial importance of raising awareness and educating the public about mental health. In this thesis, I want to shed light on the stigma surrounding mental health and to emphasize the need to minimize stigmatization and decriminalization of mental health. King Salman Park, a new development project, aims to provide a beautiful park for the Saudi community, by linking it to a variety of roads to make it accessible to everyone. By using a small portion of this park, we can construct an equine therapy centre that provides safe, supportive surroundings for our visitors. As a part of incorporating Saudi Arabian culture and therapy, an Arabian horse has been used, which has been cherished and loved by Saudi Arabians since ancient times as a great companion. Hopefully this unobtrusive move will bring awareness to Saudi Arabians and encourage them to seek more serious assistance in the future.