Cygnet Appletree celebrate new Pippin ward sensory room
The new sensory room at Cygnet Appletree is a thoughtfully designed space created for the people we support on Pippin ward, a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The room provides a peaceful environment for relaxation, self-regulation and sensory exploration to help reduce anxiety, stress and sensory overload.
All of the sensory elements have been carefully considered to create a soothing and safe environment to promote emotional regulation and create a positive therapeutic experience for the people we support. The room features different sensory lights, calming sounds, tactile resources, comfortable seating and everyone’s favourite feature so far- the bubble lamp. Although ‘Pip’, Pippin ward’s sensory sequin dog, has also received a lot of attention!
Occupational Therapist Joanna Smith has been developing the sensory room since earlier this year with elements of the room being designed in collaboration with service users to ensure they had a role in its creation. The room is now fully open for service users to access and has so far received positive feedback. Both service users and staff have commented on the calming effect the room has and have complimented the excellent craftsmanship and contribution of the maintenance team who have been key to the rooms overall development.
Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) can at times be highly stimulating, loud and distressing environments for our service users. The new sensory room offers a calm and quiet space where service users can re-focus, take a breath and feel safe.
