The experiences of patients in using sensory rooms in psychiatric inpatient care

Abstract

The use of sensory rooms and similar sensory approaches in psychiatric inpatient settings is becoming increasingly common. In sensory rooms, patients can choose different sensory stimulating items that may help regulate distress and enhance well-being. Outcomes are often measured as effects on patients' self-rated distress and rates of seclusion and restraint. The subjective experiences of patients using sensory rooms have been less explored. This paper presents a qualitative study of the experiences of 28 patients who chose to use sensory rooms on seven different types of psychiatric inpatient wards. Data were collected by individual patient interviews and by texts written by patients. A qualitative content analysis resulted in four categories: emotional calm, bodily calm, empowerment, and unexpected effects. A majority of the participants described several positive experiences, such as enhanced well-being, reduced anxiety, increased self-management, and enhanced self-esteem. Our findings align with previous research that has shown similar positive patient experiences, and support the use of sensory rooms as part of person-centred care.

What mental health nurses have to say about themselves: A discourse analysis

“…Hedlund Lindberg et al . (2019, p. 936) mentioned mental health nursing once in their paper exploring the experiences of patients using a sensory room on a ‘psychiatric inpatient’ unit although nurses were mentioned 15 times and state, ‘The nurse‐patient relationship is one of the fundamentals of mental health nursing and a key concept in patient recovery’. Harris and Panozzo (2019, p. 1221) who used nurses (140 instances) interchangeably with mental health nurses (MHNs = 4) explicitly explored barriers to recovery‐focused care and the notion of ‘therapeutic‐relationship’.…”

Dealing with care disruption in High and Intensive Care wards: From difficult patients to difficult situations

“…2008; Hedlund Lindberg et al . 2019; Simpson & House 2002; Van der Sande et al . 2011; Voskes et al .…”

The Experiences of Women with a Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Using Sensory Modulation Approaches in an Inpatient Mental Health Rehabilitation Setting

“…The use of sensory modulation approaches, or sensory strategies, within inpatient mental health settings has tended to focus on the use of sensory rooms including equipment designed to provide regulating sensory inputs such as rocking or glider chairs, weighted items, music, visuals such as projection or nature scenes, and aromatherapy products (Dorn et al, 2020;Forsyth & Trevarrow, 2018;Lindberg et al, 2019;Smith & Jones, 2014). Sutton and Nicholson (2011) suggest that a sensory room can be helpful place to base sensory modulation intervention, however, many studies have narrowed focus to a sensory room alone (Bj€ orkdahl et al, 2016;Dorn et al, 2020;Forsyth & Trevarrow, 2018;Lindberg et al, 2019;Novak et al, 2012) or a specific piece of equipment such as a weighted blanket (Becklund et al, 2021;Champagne et al, 2015;Novak et al, 2012), offering only a limited insight into potential uses and benefits of the approach and most likely failing to reflect the individuality of the approach from person to person. In some studies access to specific sensory tools has been limited due to risk (Wiglesworth & Farnworth, 2016), and effectiveness has often been based on each singular use of a sensory room rather than detailed analysis of continued use by the same people (Champagne & Sayer, 2003;Dorn et al, 2020;Gardner, 2016;Wiglesworth & Farnworth, 2016).…”

“…Perhaps due to the nature of the client groups used within these studies, focus tends to be on symptom management rather than consideration of the wider impact the use of such approaches could have, with chosen outcome measures evaluating self-rated distress or levels of seclusion or restraint (Scanlan & Novak, 2015;Dorn et al, 2020). The majority of previous studies have been completed within settings with acutely unwell clients (Chalmers et al, 2012;Forsyth & Trevarrow, 2018, Gardner, 2016Lindberg et al, 2019;Lloyd et al, 2014;Smith & Jones, 2014) and forensic services (Wiglesworth & Farnworth, 2016) and a limitation of that has been the impact of symptomology on ability to engage with the approach (Gardner, 2016). Despite sensory modulation being an approach that developed within occupational therapy it is often evaluated medically with a focus on management of symptoms.…”

“…Aspects such as the relational nature of the approach (Sutton & Nicholson, 2011) and self-management of distress (Scanlan & Novak, 2015) in particular could not be fully evaluated without increased focus on service user experience. A recent study by Lindberg et al (2019) has begun to redress this focus using service user interviews to gain a more detailed insight into the specific benefits and found that use of a sensory room increased both bodily and emotional calm as well as supporting empowerment. However, the focus of this study did not allow analysis of long-term benefits or transferability of strategies due to the focus remaining solely on sensory room use within a short term acute mental health setting.…”