Therapeutic Location

Trauma-informed design seeks to create an ideal environment for people recovering from trauma, and geographic location has an enormous impact on that environment.

In many projects, location is not considered as a design factor since it cannot be controlled; however, in this case, the choice to build in San Diego was deliberate and the most expensive single decision made on the project. It was likely the single most impactful design choice as well, because San Diego is one of the best locations for trauma recovery in the world, with no significant geographical drawbacks and dozens of positive qualities that few other locations can match.

San Diego earns its nickname of “America’s Finest City” by consistently ranking at or near the top of cities nationally and worldwide in nearly all measurable ways, including individual well-being, community well-being, and quality of life. This means that people coming from other areas are extremely likely to experience significant improvements in several aspects of life merely by being in San Diego, and many of these improvements provide powerful therapeutic benefits that amplify the efficacy of therapy and facilitate trauma recovery.

In fact, for each of the four aforementioned areas where we focused our efforts to implement trauma-informed design through architecture and environmental design, San Diego contributed in ways that help on a much larger scale.

Safety & Security

San Diego has long been one of the safest large cities in the country with comparatively low rates of violent crime, and overall crime rates that have been decreasing steadily for years.

San Diego also has a strong and well-supplied healthcare workforce, with more than 10 hospitals within 10 miles of Haven House and Cloud Nine Studios. There is a high concentration of top-tier medical expertise available, even for For complex and serious conditions, as San Diego is also home to a number of highly-ranked hospitals, such as UC San Diego Health, which is recognized nationally for its specialty care.

Healthy Habits & Harmony

In most places, inclement weather regularly depresses mood and prevents outdoor activities, causing lower levels of serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. On the other hand, San Diego is famous for its consistently mild, sunny, and temperate climate, often cited as one of the best in the world. This allows for an unparalleled year-round outdoor lifestyle, with residents enjoying beaches, hiking, biking, and surfing virtually every day. The habits doctors recommend to fight depression essentially describe a stereotypical San Diego lifestyle.

The ideal climate also makes it easier to grow food, and San Diego County has more small farms and more organic producers than any other county in America. More delicious fruit and vegetables makes eating healthy easier and more enjoyable.

Furthermore, although hard to quantify by any single study, San Diego is consistently rated as one of happiest and friendliest cities. The fact that all residents of San Diego enjoy so many advantages compounds to form additional benefits, which helps contribute to a greater sense of community well-being, which, on an individual level, can lead to lower levels of stress and anxiety and improve chances that interactions with others in the community will be positive.

Choice, Comfort, & Privacy

Often considered the city with the most consistently pleasant weather in the continental U.S. It boasts a mild, Mediterranean climate with comfortable temperatures year-round, low humidity, and, by many measurements, the largest number of perfect-weather days per year. San Diego has a more pleasant climate than >99% of the rest of the world, which means that almost everyone coming from other areas will be more comfortable in San Diego, often significantly so. Furthermore, while cities already typically have less pollen than rural areas, San Diego has the one of the lowest pollen counts of the largest cities in the US, making it easier to breathe, sleep, relax, and exercise.

Unpleasant weather or difficulty breathing isn’t just inconvenient; for those recovering from trauma, personal discomfort that cannot be alleviated is a constant drain on mental resources and can lead to feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. Conversely, the effortless personal comfort that many will feel simply by living in this area will boost the efficacy of therapy through decreased distractions, increased energy levels, elevated moods, and an increased sense of self-efficacy.

Nature & Beauty

San Diego’s natural beauty is a defining characteristic of the city, which is best known for its coastline of over 70 miles of dramatic bluffs, hidden coves, and world-class beaches. Close to home, residents can kayak alongside sea lions at La Jolla Cove, spot migrating gray whales from the cliffs of Point Loma, or explore the kelp forests and tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument. With just an hour’s drive, though, they could also visit the misty, pine-covered peaks of the Cuyamaca Mountains and Cleveland National Forest or the vast, arid expanse of the Anza-Borrego Desert. This is a rare combination of options for any single metro area—and part of the reason San Diego County is the most biologically diverse county in America, giving residents an abundance of choices of ways to connect with nature.

Beyond boosting these various aspects of trauma-informed design, the location contributes in large, meaningful ways to the other major areas of development in this project as well:

Therapeutic Artwork

Most of the Therapeutic Artwork modalities developed through this project rely heavily on the work of local female artists. This would not be possible were it not for the size and quality of the San Diego artists community, which was most recently estimated at the 11th-largest in the country. San Diego is also home to a number of prominent and well-regarded art festivals, such as the La Jolla Arts Festival and the Mission Federal ArtWalk, which make it significantly easier to locate top talent and the all-too-rare works of Healing High Art.

Animal Support

Climate affects animal well-being and behavior even more than it affects that of humans, making the decision to build in San Diego one of the most significant animal-supportive measures taken. The ideal climate will help pets significantly, as even indoor cats in climate-controlled homes are sensitive to changes in barometric pressure, humidity, and noise that comes from inclement weather, leading to agitation and anxiety, but fortunately those problems are all but absent in San Diego.