This week Ken, Donna and I are joined by architect and writer Esther Sperber to discuss the very real and serious issue of mental health in architecture. Esther owns Studio ST Architects, a small practice in New York City, and frequently writes about mental health, with a specific focus on psychoanalysis and it’s relationship to architecture.
Creative fields, especially those with long hours and high stress levels, are often rife with mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, chemical abuse... these are just a few of the indicators common in architecture. If you’re not suffering from any of these, you’re likely working around people that are. On today’s show we barely scratch the surface of this extremely complex subject. Our conversation ranges from learning to listen and empathize, to simple daily strategies for coping with mental health issues of your own and those around you, to addressing more serious problems including chemical imbalances and professional treatment.
Listen to episode 121 of Archinect Sessions, “Mental Health in Architecture”.
Shownotes:
Thank you for this. This talk is really touching upon a lot of issues that should be discussed today...its been a long time coming. One of the most destructive forces in this profession is the inability for architects to admit vulnerabilities. So many times I've ran into these coworkers, bosses, and fellow students that are unable to look within and allow for healthy self criticism. I think that in the act of presenting yourself as a learning individual within this profession, you are able to gain the trust of others and become seen as inherently 'human', rather than some kind of indestructible architectural ego that we continue to see. Psychoanalysis is an exploration into the self that helps fix a lot of systemic issues within the workplace...it is really something that all leading professionals should undertake.
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Really good talk guys, thanks.
Boy I flubbed up a lot of my words on this episode! Here is John green doing a MUCH better job of explaining the concept of turtles all the way down. The explanation starts at 10:19.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDAmYagogTs
Thank you for this. This talk is really touching upon a lot of issues that should be discussed today...its been a long time coming. One of the most destructive forces in this profession is the inability for architects to admit vulnerabilities. So many times I've ran into these coworkers, bosses, and fellow students that are unable to look within and allow for healthy self criticism. I think that in the act of presenting yourself as a learning individual within this profession, you are able to gain the trust of others and become seen as inherently 'human', rather than some kind of indestructible architectural ego that we continue to see. Psychoanalysis is an exploration into the self that helps fix a lot of systemic issues within the workplace...it is really something that all leading professionals should undertake.
interesting dialogue—I appreciate how you didn’t all accept the binary of one model over another. I tend to think of these issues in terms of the Ancient Greek concept of Virtue being a balance of extremes — the individual vs. social, or the solitary architect vs the collaborative one. Think we need to look at the spaces in between (balance) instead of accepting one side vs. another. Both can be true — we have expertise, drive, ego AND need to collaborate and listen. Balance gives me comfort ... even if the media and politics is filled with toxic binaries and anti-architect propaganda
This notion of balance is so important, Chemex! I've been thinking about it a lot with the news of Will Alsop passing. His work is totally weird and whimsical, and I'm really glad our entire cityscape doesn't look like OCAD, but I also love that his work *does* exist, alongside more conservative and historic and modern and all the other kinds of buildings.
Same with all of our work. I don't want to do budget spreadsheets all day every day, but sometimes the simple arrangement of figures in a way that actually has a quantifiable answer is wonderfully satisfying. The next day I might want to do renderings of my own version of an OCAD!
I'm really looking forward to listening to this podcast and sharing it! Thank you for highlighting psychoanalysis and mental health in these conversations on design, dwelling, and living-as-humans.
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