At Sensory Modulation Brisbane, we have been advocating for Universal Design in Mental Health Units for Sensory Sensitivities and we also recommend this for therapy rooms, waiting rooms and all health care spaces.

Many people who attend Therapy practices have sensory processing patterns that are more sensitive, more avoiding, or more seeking or more missing of sensations than others and this can vary between different senses. This includes:

· Autistics have sensory processing differences recognised as a diagnostic criteria. (DSM5)

· People with PTSD often have reactivity and hypervigilance to certain sensations

· People with schizophrenia often have auditory processing and visual perception challenges.

· ADHDers frequently have sensory processing differences (Schulze 2020)

· A high percentage of people with mental illness have interoceptive difficulties

It can be useful to design for people with sensory sensitivities as it is easier to add sensory input if needed rather than take it away.

Lighting

· Ideally a dimmable light that is set at the preference level of an individual client

· Curtains or Blinds to block out light

· If there is a florescent light, turn it off and use lamps instead.

Sound

· Improving office acoustics can be very beneficial for everyone in terms of privacy and also reducing distractions and sensory sensitivities and overload.

· It is preferable to not use music in a waiting room environment as people who want music can usually access this on their phone.

Scent

· Scents can be a trauma trigger, allergy trigger or lead to sensory sensitivity and overload. So having a low scent therapy room and waiting room can be very important. For this reason, we do not recommend diffusers in public spaces.

· Sometimes it may be necessary to neutralise odours. Try nil odour drops.

Interoception needs

Sometimes therapy is the place where people relax a little and notice that they need to go to the toilet, drink some water or have some snacks. They may not have noticed these interoceptive needs earlier. Close proximity to toilets, water and food can be useful.

Comfortable Seating

There are many people in pain or who have hypermobility and are attending therapy offices. Comfortable seating can make a big difference.

Calming tools

At Sensory Modulation Brisbane, our favourite sensory tools for offices including a weighted cushion, a box of fidgets, icy water or ice packs and invitations to reduce the lighting or turn on or off the pink/brown/white noise machine.

Visual Movement

Ideally design waiting rooms so that there is not a lot of visual movement eg people walking past, traffic etc. Or provide options to be able to not face this visual movement.

Clear Pathways

It is useful for pathways to be clear and obvious and for signage to be clear. It can also be useful to take pictures of landmarks and have this available on website or new starter information .

Personal preferences

It can be useful to invite individuals to use their preferred fidgets, earplugs, sunglasses, back cushion etc so that they are comfortable

Nature

Access to nature can be calming. A plant or a picture of nature can be good additions to an office

Previous blog posts have discussed changing sensory input within a psychiatric hospital:

http://sensory-modulation-brisbane.com/sensory-modulation-blog/replace-the-torch-light-mental-health-unit-design

http://sensory-modulation-brisbane.com/sensory-modulation-blog/auditory-sensitivities-mental-health-unit

Training:

https://sensorymodulationbrisbane.ticketspice.com/sensory-modulation-using-a-sensory-lens-with-clients

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Marcel Schulze, Silke Lux, Alexandra Philipsen et al. Sensory Processing in Adult ADHD – A Systematic Review, 10 September 2020, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-71514/v1]
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Sugiyama, S., et al(2021). The Auditory Steady-State Response: Electrophysiological Index for Sensory Processing Dysfunction in Psychiatric Disorders. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 644541.

Sensory Modulation Resource Manual