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In the context of hospital architecture, the incorporation of biophilic elements, such as natural light, greenery, and organic materials, is crucial for enhancing patient outcomes and well-being. These elements not only evoke a sense of connection with nature but also contribute to stress reduction, improved cognitive function, and accelerated recovery rates. Through the lens of Vastu Shastra, which emphasizes harmony between the individual and their surroundings, we explore how the alignment of architectural elements with natural forces can create environments that resonate with the inherent flow of life energy, or prana, within the human body. Furthermore, this abstract delves into the nature of space within hospital environments, recognizing it as a dynamic continuum that encompasses mystery, refuge, and prospect. By creating spaces that evoke a sense of mystery through subtle interplays of light and shadow, hospitals can offer moments of contemplation and introspection for patients and staff alike. Similarly, the provision of refuge zones, characterized by tranquil green spaces and secluded alcoves, serves as havens for relaxation and rejuvenation amidst the bustling clinical environment. Additionally, spaces designed to offer prospect, such as panoramic views of natural landscapes or expansive skyward vistas, instill a sense of hope and optimism, inspiring patients to envision a brighter future beyond their current circumstances. Central to this exploration is the role of materiality in shaping the permeability of hospital spaces. By carefully selecting and deploying materials that evoke tactile sensations and visual richness, it can enhance the sensory experience of occupants while fostering a sense of connection with the natural world. Whether by using sustainably sourced wood for interior finishes, biophilic patterns in architectural ornamentation, or the incorporation of water features to evoke a sense of fluidity and renewal, materiality becomes a powerful medium through which the essence of nature can permeate the built environment, promoting healing and well-being. / Master of Architecture / This summary discusses how incorporating natural elements such as sunlight, plants, and natural materials into hospital design can significantly improve patient health and recovery. Research shows that exposure to natural light can boost mood, reduce stress, and regulate sleep patterns, which are crucial for healing. Greenery, such as indoor plants or garden views, can create a calming environment and have been linked to faster recovery times and reduced need for pain medication. The summary also explores an ancient design philosophy called Vastu Shastra, which focuses on creating harmony between individuals and their surroundings. According to Vastu Shastra, aligning architectural elements with natural forces can enhance the flow of life energy, or prana, within the body, contributing to overall well-being. This philosophy suggests that well-designed hospital spaces can support both physical and mental health by promoting balance and tranquility. The design principles highlighted include creating areas for reflection and relaxation, such as quiet nooks or peaceful gardens, where patients and staff can take breaks and rejuvenate. Additionally, providing inspiring views of nature, whether through windows or rooftop gardens, can instill a sense of hope and positivity, encouraging patients to envision a brighter future. Using materials that feel and look natural, like sustainably sourced wood for furniture and finishes, or incorporating water features like fountains or ponds, can further enhance the healing atmosphere. These natural materials can evoke tactile sensations and visual richness, making the hospital environment feel more welcoming and less clinical. Overall, integrating these biophilic and Vastu Shastra-inspired elements into hospital design can create a supportive and nurturing environment that promotes healing and well-being for patients and staff alike.

Counselor wellness is an important concept that can be taught in counselor education programs. Nonetheless, counseling interns tend to be at a higher risk for impairment issues due to stressors related to being novice counselors. The stress of engaging in therapeutic relationships with clients, lack of clinical experience, idealistic expectations of the profession, and personal issues can hinder their wellness. It is the responsibility of CACREP programs to incorporate wellness education into counselor training, which includes impairment topics such as compassion fatigue and burnout. The lack of this essential education can impede counseling interns' professional growth; create barriers within the therapeutic relationship, and raises questions about programs' gatekeeping policies. This study surveyed 68 counseling interns of 20 CACREP programs to determine: a) their levels of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout as measured by the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) and, b) their perceptions of their programs' wellness curriculum and their knowledge of programs' nonacademic and retention policies as measured by The Counseling Interns' Perceptions of Wellness Survey (CIPW). Furthermore, this study examined the relationship between interns' perceptions of wellness and their levels of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Descriptive and correlational statistics, and a MANOVA analysis were conducted to answer the research questions. The results demonstrate that a percentage of counseling interns were at a risk for compassion fatigue and burnout while providing therapeutic services to clients. Also, there were interns with low levels of compassion satisfaction. Additionally, there were interns who believed their programs were not educating them about counselor wellness and who were not knowledgeable of their programs' gatekeeping policies. There were positive relationships between interns' perceptions of their programs' wellness education and compassion satisfaction, and between compassion fatigue and burnout. There were negative relationships between wellness education and burnout, and compassion satisfaction and burnout. The results of this study suggest that counselor impairment occurs during training. Likewise, this study has reinforced the need to educate counseling students about impairment topics and wellness strategies. Further results suggest that counselor education programs need to strengthen and restructure gatekeeping policies during counselor training. / Ph. D.

As the cities grow, our lives get busier and we live further away from our families than we ever have before, have we thought about what life is like for our parents and grandparents at home? Can architecture help improve the mental and physical health of the occupiers? Design like a problem solver does not only mean solving pre-existed problems, but also thinking preemptively. Although technology can solve part of the problem, if we explore the role of design in our society and know how to apply good architecture to promote connection between generations, we can help elders feel active. We can even help prevent depression amongst seniors. In the near future, the population 65 or older will continue being the majority of the entire demography. And inclusive living will be an inseparable part of every future design project. Biophilic design would contribute to part of the solution as well. The elderly have lots to offer that the younger generations would need: experience, education, wisdom and most importantly, freetime; we can't leave all these resources aside. By encouraging interactions between different age groups, our children could benefit from all of this in one way or another that is going to be useful for their learning, and elders would feel they can also create value in the society. This thesis originates from a simple desire to make a safe and fun environment for my grandparents to spend their time in. And to make people be aware of their surrounding physical and also the psychological world. This design is site-specific, where the nearby park/trails and existing neighboring buildings become an integral part of the work. The beauty of the natural world always strikes me, thereby I try to work in response to that beauty. Protect the wetland park nearby and use it as an educational resource for people who come across my project. But whether socially or aesthetically based, in this work I seek to create a strong bond with the residents and visitors, to allow a place of lively interactions. I think architecture is not just physical walls and roofs enclosing a space, but a passage, a journey, a reflection of time. / Master of Architecture / As the cities grow, our lives get busier and we live further away from our families than we ever have before, have we thought about what life is like for our parents and grandparents at home? Although technology can solve part of the problem, if we explore the role of design in our society and know how to apply good architecture to promote connection between generations, we can help seniors feel active. We can even help prevent depression amongst them. The seniors have lots to offer that the younger generations would need: experience, education, wisdom and most importantly, freetime; we can't leave all these aside. By encouraging interactions between the two age groups, our children could benefit from all of this in one way or another that is going to be useful for their learning, and elders would feel they can also create value in the society. This thesis originates from a simple desire to make a safe and fun environment for my grandparents to spend their time in. And to make people be aware of their surrounding physical and also the psychological world. This design is site-specific, where the nearby park and existing neighboring buildings becomes an integral part of the work. The beauty of the natural world always strikes me, thereby I try to work in response to that beauty. Protect the wetland park nearby and use it as an educational resource for people who come across my project. But whether socially or aesthetically based, in this work I seek to create a strong bond with the residents and visitors, to allow a place of lively interactions. I think architecture is not just physical walls and roofs enclosing a space, but a passage, a journey, a reflection of time.

Wellness has become an increasingly important paradigm for counseling and clinical supervision. A heightened focus on counselor wellness in supervision has emerged as an intervention to improve quality of care to clients and prevent counselor impairment. Although researchers have examined the benefits of wellness interventions in supervision, we have little understanding of the supervisor's ability to model wellness to their supervisees. Nor have researchers shown how a supervisor's wellness influences supervisee wellness—and if and how the strength of the supervision relationship changes this influence. Thus, the purpose of this quantitative investigation was to (a) analyze the role of modeled wellness as a way for supervisors to influence the multifaceted aspects of supervisee wellness, and (b) identify if the factoring in the supervisory relationship changes this influence. This quantitative study included a sample of 105 counselor education students enrolled in practicum or internship courses who were receiving supervision from a site-based supervisor. Results indicated that supervisee personal wellness was influenced by the supervisee's perception of supervisor wellness. Certain second-order factors of perceived supervisor wellness (Creative and Coping Selves) were more predictive of the corresponding factor of supervisee personal wellness. When the strength of the supervisory relationship was considered, the model became more predictive despite the lack of correlation between the strength of the supervisory relationship and supervisee personal wellness. Results from this investigation suggest that the supervisory relationship can act as a suppressor variable, controlling for error in the equation and making the perception of supervisor wellness a more valid predictor. A subsequent correlational analysis suggests that the error in prediction was primarily in supervisory relationships of moderate strength. The combination of the supervisee's perception of their supervisor's wellness and the strength of the supervisory relationship predicted 9% of the variance in supervisee wellness. Implications for counselors, supervisors, educators, and policy are discussed. Limitations and recommendations for future inquiry are highlighted based on the findings from this investigation. / Ph. D.

Throughout history, humans have stigmatized solitude. We see it as an inconvenience, something to avoid, a punishment. As a society today, we are constantly locked on to our phones, televisions, friend groups and generally being around people. It is an over stimulation that has damaging effects to our mental well-being. We need to be around people because we are a social species. Because of this we think the idea of being alone as a problem, as something strange, an unwanted behavior. I believe there is a misunderstanding between the idea of isolation with separation and loneliness. The world's population is increasing every year and we often find ourselves trapped in overcrowded cities. Finding a special quiet place to get away and gather your thoughts is difficult in an environment like this. This is a major stress factor that contributes to the large spread of depression and anxiety that we find in our world. These cities come with many stressors such as density, excessive stimuli, competition and materialism, disconnection and even uncertainty in a constantly moving and changing environment. This thesis is the exploration of intentional solitude which is the idea of wanting to be alone. Being alone has many benefits that go beyond what most people think. Scientists and psychologists today are finding that isolation can be very beneficial to the human mind and can be therapeutic if done so by choice. Intentional solitude can also be beneficial for groups as well. This works when individual group members set off and isolate for a certain period and then regroup later to share their own experience. By doing this, the group gains new experiences and ideas that would otherwise be unachievable if done so alone. To best achieve solidarity, the design of the wellness retreat will include a main communal building, called the hearth, and a set of smaller individual structures, called shelters. These shelters will be located at different points throughout the site and provide an isolated, natural experience for self-reflection. The hearth will be the area for communal gatherings and to share ideas and experiences found through isolation. / Master of Architecture / People in todays society are so consumed by their phones, media and life itself that they often forget to save time for themselves. Research has shown that finding time for solitude and isolation to gather ones thoughts and relax has proven to be a major help in terms of mental health. This thesis involves a wellness retreat which was designed for such people in order to help them reflect on themselves through the exposure to architecture and the natural environment. The project involves two major aspects. One is the main central communal building called the hearth. This is where all the visitors will reconvene everyday to share their personal experiences. The second part of this project are the separate isolation shelters that are spread out through the wooded site. These locations will be used for personal intentional solitude. This is where each visitor will spend most of their time alone with both architecture and nature. The shelters and the hearth are connected to each other through several trails on the site.

Biophilia, the affinity humans have for nature, has been widely demonstrated to manifest both physiological and psychological benefits in those who are exposed to natural settings. By incorporating such elements in architecture, biophilic design has been put forth as a remedy to many of the health concerns associated with urban environments. However, most of the focus has been on treatment rather than prevention, leaving the root causes unaddressed. This thesis aims to reorient the focus toward the proactive use of biophilic design to promote well-being and avert the onset of these issues. Design principles draw from the theory of Salutogenesis, which employs elements of Psychologically Supportive Design (PSD) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART) to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This approach contrasts and augments the concept of Pathogenesis, the focus on resultant illnesses and disease that defines the current healthcare paradigm. If biophilia is salutogenic (i.e. generates health), this thesis postulates that such architecture will also act as a prophylaxis, or preventative medicine. To evaluate the potential efficacy of various biophilic strategies, an IRB-approved research study has been designed to gather qualitative and quantitative responses from individuals viewing alternative design proposals. Rather than putting forth a hypothesis to be supported, the project centers on a thesis proposition to be explored through an inductive process of seeking emergent theories. With funding from the American Institute of Architects through the AIAS Crit Scholar Program, design alternatives were developed and presented in Virtual Reality to individuals associated with a local organization, Community Health Center of the New River Valley. While the results presented are neither prescriptive nor universally generalizable, findings are relevant in both the context of healthcare and across building types. / Master of Architecture / In recent decades, designers and researchers alike have sought to understand what people have intuitively known for millennia – namely, that humans possess an innate affinity for nature, which can improve our physical and psychological health and well-being. The theory of biophilia, first popularized in 1984 by Edward O. Wilson, has framed this concept with the hypothesis that "Natural environments have a restorative advantage over artificial environments due to the role they played in our evolution as a species." Since then, countless studies have supported this claim, with far-reaching implications and opportunities. As more and more people move to cities, health crises have escalated dramatically, with urban environments tied to increased stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and memory disorders. As the world continues to urbanize, designers face a growing imperative to create spaces that are conducive to health and wellness. Biophilic design has been put forth as a remedy to many of these health concerns, yet most of the focus has been on treatment rather than prevention, leaving the root causes unaddressed. This thesis aims to reorient the focus toward the proactive use of biophilic design to promote well-being and avert the onset of these issues. Design principles draw from the theory of Salutogenesis, the idea that health is a condition that can be caused, rather than the mere absence of illness. If biophilia is salutogenic (i.e. generates health), this thesis postulates that such architecture will also act as a prophylaxis, or preventative medicine. To explore this topic, a hypothetical wellness center was designed in partnership with a local organization, Community Health Center of the New River Valley. Design alternatives were presented to a group of participants using Virtual Reality headsets to view four spaces, each focused on a different element of biophilia: vegetation, water, light, and air. Interviews and questionnaires resulted in a number of trends and conclusions regarding best practices for the inclusion of natural elements in architecture.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse lifestyle changes and their impact on tourism. Goal to zoom in on the changing trend in the area of lifestyle, nutrition and wellness toward health. The theoretical part explains the lifestyle as a term and characterizes the wellness concept and worldwide trends in the field of wellness. It also represents the alternative methods, therapies and wellness services. It also deals with the problems of nutrition and nutritional alternative styles and introduces some of the results of the World Health Survey in the Czech Republic. The main part of the thesis includes own research on the preferences of the Czech population in the area of lifestyle, which is based on a questionnaire.