NORTHAMPTON — Mental health organization ServiceNet has opened a new wellness center in the heart of Northampton, hoping to emphasize the link between physical health and mental well-being.

The new wellness center, located on 43 Center St. next to the Northampton Police Station, allows ServiceNet staff to work one-on-one with clients, with equipment including treadmills and stair machines alongside less conventional exercise means such as a Nintendo Switch game console with dancing games for members to use.

Megan Reed, the wellness program director for the new center, said everything in the center down to the most minute details is designed to make the space accommodating for those using the facility.

“From the lighting to the color choices, to the seating and the furniture, to the art on the walls, everything is designed to provoke essentially a physiological response to put people at ease without them even noticing,” Reed said. “They walk in there and they start to feel better, even if it’s just a little bit.”

Reed added that such details made for a “trauma-informed” method to help clients improve physical health, manage stress and adopt better life changes.

“Everything about the program is designed to create a feeling of safety and comfort,” Reed said. “Whether that’s the language we’re using, the actual setting of the wellness program, which is extremely soothing and peaceful, to the kind of movement we engage in with our folks, everything is done with that in mind.”

Previously, the space had served as an emergency shelter for ServiceNet, before the shelter contract was taken up by Clinical & Support Options (CSO), another mental health support organization. After CSO moved into a new, much larger shelter on Industrial Drive, ServiceNet reassumed control of the Center Street space and worked to convert it to a wellness center.

“We had been discussing the need for a comprehensive wellness program for those who have severe mental illness,” said Polly Normand, the vice president of community programs for ServiceNet. “We heard some presentations at conferences about various other programs that other organizations were doing. But we decided that rather than doing something from a box or a kit of someone else’s, we would create our own program.”

After setting up a temporary facility in Florence, ServiceNet moved into the new space in March and held a grand opening ceremony for the facility on April 15. Attendees at the ceremony included Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vince Jackson.

Reed said the introduction of physical wellness in ServiceNet’s programming would make for a more holistic approach to treating mental health in clients.

“Improved nutrition can positively improve mental health, and increasing your level of activity and exercising has a physiological impact on mental health,” Reed said. “Not to mention the confidence building and empowerment that comes from learning how to take care of your body and becoming stronger in your body.”

Normand said another goal of the wellness center was to educate clients on exercise and nutrition in an accepting way.

“There’s so much shame, there’s so much guilt around eating,” Normand said. “It’s about helping to support people with that almost overload of information they get about certain aspects of health.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.