Reducing Seclusion

I have attached a link below of an article from the nursing review, which talks about sensory modulation as a prevention method to reduce seclusion in mental health acute settings. From my experiences, working in a mental health acute ward is somewhat daunting, especially to a student and most probably to any other outsider. All doors are locked; everything feels bland, dark and cold. In the unit I worked in there didn’t appear to be anything for the clients to participate in as the art room was mainly closed and the lounge was small and crowded. Clients were left in seclusion. I couldn’t see myself recovering quickly in this sort of environment, so I have a hard time seeing how the clients are encouraged to. Predominantly acute wards have a medical model focus, and lack any recovery approach. From an occupational therapy student perspective, seclusion has no therapeutic benefit and leaves the client feeling hopeless. This results in indefinite dependence on the mental health system, and can lead to reliance on medications to control a clients illness and life. In this case sensory modulation is beneficial in mental health practice as it promotes participation in meaningful occupational and enables clients to uses strategies to control their own recovery.

http://www.nursingreview.co.nz/pages/section/article.php?s=Features&idArticle=17440


I have attached Te Pou’s website on sensory modulation for seclusion reduction in New Zealand, which I think is worth looking at.

http://www.tepou.co.nz/page/398-our-projects+sensory-modulation-for-seclusion-reduction