Vanessa Westermann

De humanising Modernism and Zombie Architecture

A sense of place refers to the emotional and psychological connection you feel towards a specific location (Bo and Rani, 2025). It is the feeling and comfort of going home, a sense of belonging, an identity from experiencing a space that resonates with your values and memories and culture (Bo and Rani, 2025). Sometimes we don’t have people or family in our lives or an ideology that gives us a sense of belonging, sometimes we find our identity in a place to call home.

The Scottish Borders has architecture dating from the 12^th century, influenced by medieval Scotland and the writings of Sir Walter Scott. It is a very special place, and the architecture evokes positive emotions, engaging people with their communities (Kingston Society, 2024). The symbols found in our architecture are complex and are not immediately clear to us but continue to create emotional connections for us (Kingston Society, 2024). What will letting our beautiful buildings fall into disrepair or be replaced with modernism do to our sense of place? Why are our buildings not being restored and protected? How many meeting places such as our pubs, libraries and church halls have been lost and defaced due to the slow march of modernism since the 1950s?  What exactly is the Utopian goal that modern architecture is moving us towards?  In the Scottish Borders do we not already have the architectural utopian ideal? Is the loss of cohesion that modernism brings in our best interests?

Modern Globalised Architecture is not a style, instead it is an ideological top-down rejection of our cultural past aiming to change our sense of community and belonging, with soulless alienating, zombie spaces (Kingston Society, 2024). Modernism aims to radically change the emotional and symbolic needs of the people, leaving us with no meaningful alternative to return to (Kingston Society, 2024). According to Haussmann, Modernism is cultural tyranny, and institutions are using a perceived hierarchy of values such as rationalism and efficiency and a rejection of ornamentation as a kind of moral imperative to force this architectural radicalization on communities (Kingston Society, 2024). Restoring and renovating our existing buildings would seem to have the moral hierarchy of sustainability rather than the environmentally damaging choice of modern buildings. Where has the belief system, that new is always better come from? Modern architecture since1950, influenced by constructivism and social realism has been proven to not age well and has no longevity, unlike our 800 years of beautiful architecture set in rolling hills.

The goal of all regimes is to change the environment to serve their political or financial aims. By changing historical references and classic elements in architecture they can make the change permanent and irreversible (Sarp and lab, 2023). With centralizing planning, communities lose control and identity and self-determination (Sarp and Lab, 2023). All totalitarian regimes such as communism use architecture as a tool to promote their ideology and exert control, with standardized housing losing individualism and designing public spaces to reinforce the state’s power and shape citizens behaviour (Sarp and Lab, 2023). All new political regimes know they needed to erase the past to bring in their kind of new (Strauss, 2015). The cultural hero and archaeologist Khaled Asaad dedicated his life to protecting Syrian artifacts from ISIS militants (Strauss, 2015). Assad was executed, deemed immoral for preserving his cultural identity (Strauss, 2015). France understood the endurance of their culture through their architecture when they surrendered Paris to a fascist regime. Our architecture has the role of preserver of our collective memory and tradition in our culture. Buildings are not just physical structures they embody the values and beliefs of people who created them and inhabit them. The Marxist Rudi Dutschke in the 1960s coined the phrase “the long march through the institutions” as the intellectual and cultural stealth takeover of a society without the need to resort to military conflict (Renew, 2021).

The Scottish Borders has taken centuries to create but can be torn down in a moment, whose needs and desires does modernism serve?

References

Bo, L. and Rani, A. (2025). The Value of Current Sense of Place in Architectural Heritage Studies: A Systematic Review. Buildings, 15(6), pp.903–903. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15060903.

Kingston Society (2024). The tyranny of modern architecture: why we hate it and how styles like London Vernacular complicate the debate. [online] Kingston upon Thames Society. Available at: https://kts.org.uk/kingstons-riverside-new-indoor-spaces-thrive-but-gloomy-walkway-still-lags-behind/ [Accessed 4 Dec. 2024].

Renew (2021). The Long March through the Institutions of Society. [online] Renew. Available at: https://renew.org/the-long-march-through-the-institutions-of-society/.

Strauss, M. (2015). Archaeologist’s Execution Highlights Risks to History’s Guardians. [online] Adventure. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/150820-syria-archaeologist-isis-protecting-artifacts.

Sarp and Lab (2023). Pillars of Power: The Role of Architecture in Enforcing Communist Ideology in Albania - SARP AND LAB. [online] SARP AND LAB - SARP AND LAB. Available at: https://sarpandlab.al/pillars-of-power-the-role-of-architecture-in-enforcing-communist-ideology-in-albania/ [Accessed 17 Jul. 2025].

by Vanessa Westermann

Panic Attack

A Panic Attack is an abrupt surge of intense fear with symptoms such as palpitations, difficulty breathing, chest and or abdominal pain, nausea and even chills (DeGeorge et al., 2022). There is a fear of dying and of losing control (DeGeorge et al., 2022). Panic attacks can occur without a clear reason, making the experience even more frightening for the individual (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). Panic disorder is defined by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks followed by a persistent concern for further attacks, resulting in the avoidance of going out altogether (Asmundson, 2014).

When stress has built to a critical level it takes very little to trigger a panic response (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). Even in times of calm the individual suffering from panic attacks can become alarmed, triggering their body to respond to an imminent threat (DeGeorge et al., 2022). The quality of life for those with panic disorder, is reduced due to their constant worry that an attack may take place in a public setting, resulting in restricting their movements and avoiding being in public (Anxiety Disorder, 2022). Bad experiences can cause hypersensitivity, which is a future vigilance mechanism, that unconsciously informs the body of potential threat. This is an arousal that becomes very difficult to switch off and can cause cognitive distortions (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). When suffers learn that their alarm response is a natural response it often gives them a sense of relief (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). The etiology of panic attacks is multifactorial including psychological, biological and environmental matters (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). The brain is wired to prioritize negative information for survival (Anxiety Disorders, 2022). Individuals suffering with panic disorder may have a bias towards negative information contributing to the sensation that they are under constant threat (Lazarus, 2021).

Cognitive behavioural therapy is proven to be highly effective in changing and mastering the learned behaviour that triggers the alarm response (Asmundson, 2014). The knowledge of the existence of a trigger for those suffering with panic attacks, can provide reassurance for some sufferers as it provides them with control (Asmundson, 2014).  With cognitive behavioural therapy individuals learn that their response is normal just stuck in a high setting. What triggers the panic may not be known to the individual but with CBT this knowledge can be learned, changing the catastrophic thinking which is causing the body’s physical reactions (Asmundson, 2014).

References

Anxiety Disorders - Etiology.” Social Sci LibreTexts, 6 Oct. 2022, socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Psychology/

Asmundson, G. J. G., Taylor, S., & A. J. Smits, J. (2014). Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: An Overview and Commentary on Dsm-5 Changes. Depression & Anxiety (10914269), 31(6), 480-486. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22277

DeGeorge, K. C., Grover, M., & Streeter, G. S. (2022). Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults. American Family Physician, 106(2), 157.

Lazarus, J. (2021). Negativity bias: An evolutionary hypothesis and an empirical programme. Learning and Motivation. 75. 101731. 10.1016/j.lmot.2021.101731.

by Vanessa Westermann

The difference between; Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your Philosophy.” (Baskin, 2019).

Shakespeare’s philosophical words speak to the larger human experience such as love, dreams, sensuality, and the imagination (Baskin, 2019). The philosophy of a Psychotherapist is that the client is the expert of their own life and the Psychotherapist’s goal is the client’s self-efficacy and self-awareness by considering the biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual influences they may have (Gómez et al., 2015). The human experience is an ever-evolving holistic understanding of problems and a Psychotherapist considers all the dimensions of the client’s lived experience (Du Toit, 2021). A Psychotherapist’s approach to therapy is holistic rather than medical, thinking in terms of clients rather than in terms of patients (Gómez et al., 2015).

Psychotherapists do not pathologize their clients instead they look at the diversity of the human experience using a client’s strength, resilience, and potential for growth (Gómez et al., 2015). Psychotherapists help individuals overcome stress, emotional and relationship problems, as well as troublesome habits (NHS, 2015). A Psychotherapist may be a Psychiatrist, Psychologist or other mental health professional who has had an in-depth specialist training (NHS, 2015). Psychiatrists are medical doctors and study mental health problems and their diagnosis, management, and prevention (NHS, 2015). The discipline of Psychology is concerned with the functioning of the mind and in exploring areas such as learning, remembering and psychological development (NHS, 2015). Psychologists are usually not medically qualified and are more likely to treat severe mental illness such as psychosis or personality disorders (NHS, 2015). Psychologists are trained to conduct psychological and neuropsychological testing and to analyse and interpret human behaviour through a clinical lens (Gómez, 2015). A Psychologist’s diagnosis is their interpretation but is not necessarily scientific fact. The clinical lens is invaluable however it can at times overshadow a holistic view of clients and can be limited by the Psychologist’s own belief system (Gómez, 2015). At times when a person is pathologized, they can feel trapped in the mental illness they have been labelled with (Gómez, 2015). When the focus becomes just about the difficulty that the person is experiencing rather than on that individual’s strength there is a risk that they will over identify with the pathology rather than with their own individual identity (Gómez, 2015).

Psychotherapy avoids restrictive models of understanding human distress and labels based on pre-established categories of meaning (Du Toit, 2021). Psychotherapy’s approach is that the client is the expert of their own life and moves away from the Therapist, Psychiatrist or Psychologist acting as the expert of a patient’s life. The client as the expert of their own life is understood in Psychotherapy, in the lateral respect between the therapist and the client by diminishing the existence of a hierarchy. The goal of Psychotherapy is to be open to the larger human experience of the client and to promote a client’s capacity to actively recognize and accept their responsibility and freedom to live authentically (Du Toit, 2021).

References

Du Toit, (2021, October 18). To be or not to be: what is existential psychotherapy? Top Doctors. https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/to-be-or-not-to-be-what-is-existential-psychotherapy

Gómez, J. M., Lewis, J. K., Noll, L. K., Smidt, A. M., & Birrell, P. J. (2015). Shifting the focus: Non-pathologizing approaches to healing from betrayal trauma through an emphasis on relational care. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(2), 165–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1103104

Jon Baskin (2019). Start reading Ordinary Unhappiness | Press, S. U. Www.sup.org. https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=29316&i=Conclusion.html

NHS. (2015, March 26). Differences between psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Health Careers. https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/differences-between-psychology-psychiatry-and-psychotherapy

by Vanessa Westermann