|
 Why emerging? Seclusion and restraint practices in mental health settings result in approximately 150 deaths each year, with countless others being injured or traumatized.1 Restraint reduction is a part of the Trauma and Justice Initiative, which is one of eight strategic initiatives of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).2 The use of sensory rooms is one of the six core strategies to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.3 The occupational therapy profession was one of the first to identify restraint reduction initiatives, including sensory approaches.
Get Involved! When she was a new graduate, Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L, started applying the use of sensory approaches in mental health because she had learned about it in her fieldwork. "I had an aha moment," she says. "I felt that there had to be far more that could be done to help clients self-organize, and I started to go to many sensory integration–related workshops trying to discover new ideas and tools." Champagne worked collaboratively with the staff and clients in her unit to tailor what she was learning to the specific needs of the individual.
The national initiative of restraint and seclusion reduction has brought more attention to sensory approaches and to occupational therapy practice. Practitioners who want to get involved should become well educated in trauma, attachment, sensory processing, and sensory integrations, says Champagne. "Sensory approaches are not all that mental health occupational therapy practitioners provide," she says. "But it has helped to create a leadership role for us, and many clients and caregivers report that [sensory] approaches are giving them hope and helping them and their families in their recovery."
Resources:
- AOTA Fact Sheet:
- Occupational Therapy Using a Sensory Integration–Based Approach With Adult Populations, by Teresa A. May-Benson, ScD, OTR/L; & Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L
- Occupational Therapy's Role in Restraint Reduction or Elimination, by Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L; and Lisa Mahaffey, MS, OTR/L
- Addressing Sensory Integration Across the Lifespan Through Occupational Therapy by Julie Bissell, MA, OTR/L; Renee Watling, PhD, OTR/L; Clare Summers, MA, OTR/L; Joan Dostal, OTR/L; and Stefanie Bodison, MA, OTR/L
- OT Practice article:
- Evaluating Sensory Processing in Mental Health Occupational Therapy Practice, by Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L, and Jane Koomar, PHD, OTR/L, FAOTA, in March 26, 2012, OT Practice, CE Article.
- Sensory Processing Research Advances in Mental Health: Implications for Occupational Therapy, by Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L; and Dorothy Frederick, MS, OTR/L, in June 6, 2011, in OT Practice
- Assessing Sensory Characteristics of the Work Environment for Adults With Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder, by Deborah Waltermire, MHS, OTR/L; Laura Walton, MS, OTR/L; Bethanie Steese, MS, OTR/L; Jenna Riley, MS, OTR/L; and Ashleigh Robertson, MS, OT/L, in April 26, 2010, OT Practice
- SIS Quarterly article:
- Occupational Placemaking: Facilitating Self-Organization Through Use of a Sensory Room by Kathryn M. Loukas, OTD, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, in June 2011 Mental Health Special Interest Section Quarterly
- Expanding the Focus: Addressing Sensory Discrimination Concerns in Mental Health by Tina Champagne, OTD, OTR/L; and Jane Koomar, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA in March 2011 Mental Health Special Interest Section Quarterly
Reference:
-
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). SAMHSA seclusion and restraint. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://www.samhsa.gov/matrix2/seclusion_matrix.aspx
-
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Trauma and justice. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://www.samhsa.gov/traumaJustice/
-
Huckshorn, K. A. (2005). Six core strategies to reduce use of seclusion and restraint planning tool. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://www.nasmhpd.org/general_files/publications/ntac_pubs/SR%20Plan%20Template%20with%20cover%207-05.pdf
|
