Snoezelen Approach
Picture this, you are sitting in a very comfortable puffy chair, you smell calming lavender, there is a fish tank filled with bright colored fish and you are listening to the sounds of the ocean. This is what it may feel like to be sitting in a Snoezelen room.
The word Snoezelen comes from the Dutch words for to snooze or to sniff. Snoezelen is a multisensory stimulating therapy that was developed in the Netherlands to calm children who were mentally disturbed. Over the past 10 to 15 years Snoezelen rooms have been used in nursing homes for people with dementia. The goal of the room is to reduce aggression and apathy by using lights, sound, aroma, taste and things to touch. It is a non-invasive fun approach to use the atmosphere as an intervention. The stimulation of the room has been found to reduce agitation and improve mood. There are multiple sites on the web that offer guidance to understanding the Snoezelen approach and locating the equipment for the room.
Dementia care providers have offered many stories of the effects of the Snoezelen room on their residents with Alzheimer's disease. Some report the calming effect that the room has on their residents, some who even fall asleep in the room. There is a variety of ways the room can be decorated from fish tanks to glow stars, which are reminiscent of a flashback to the 1960s.
A research study titled Behavioral and Mood Effects of Snoezelen Integrated into 24-hour Dementia Care by Van Weert Et Al. looked to determine if resident behavior would change if the Snoezelen approach was used daily by CNAs. They found that the residents who received the Snoezelen approach were happier and related better to their CNAs then those in the control group. This article offers an extensive reference list that would be helpful to those looking to use the approaches.
As I reviewed the research I began to remember the multisensory rooms I have toured. I remembered the fancy light shows on the walls, the fluffy soft wall hangings, the string lights that are so much fun to touch and the sounds of water flowing. Many nursing homes have spent time and resources to develop and maintain their Snoezelen rooms. Some have shown me their rooms but have stated that they do not use them or that the staff members do not bring their residents to the room.
My experiences with Snoezelen rooms have left me curious if there may be a larger question to ask ourselves. What is going on in the environment outside the Snoezelen room? What does the unit/neighborhood sound like or look like? Is it noisy and chaotic? Is there too much stimulation that is causing people with dementia to become agitated and aggressive? Should we look towards making improvements to the overall environment before building Snoezelen rooms? Is there a way to bring the concepts of Snoezelen to the entire unit or neighborhood?
Do you have a Snoezelen room in your facility? What has been your experience or outcomes? I would love to hear from you about your experiences.