Hospice For Utah is always searching out new therapies for our patients. We have recently been featured in the Salt Lake Tribune and on KUTV 2 for our new Snoezelen therapy for Alzheimer and Dementia patients. We are the first hospice in Utah to use this labor intensive therapy to calm, soothe, and bring joy to patients with memory afflictions. All of our staff has been Snoezelen trained and have seen remarkable results in our patients.

To read the article featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, CLICK HERE.

To view the KUTV news coverage, play the video below.

What is Snoezlen?

The SNOEZELEN environment is safe and non-threatening. People with disabilities or other limiting conditions enjoy gentle stimulation of the primary senses. There is no need for intellectual reasoning. Participants experience self-control, autonomous discovery, and exploration-achievements that overcome inhibitions, enhance self-esteem, and reduce tension. Free from the expectations of others and away from the pressures of directed care, they recuperate and relax.

Research has shown that multisensory environments offer a wealth of benefits, often affording the participant and caregiver an opportunity to improve communications, enhance their understanding of each other, and build trust in their relationship. SNOEZELEN is a wonderful experience to enjoy and share-a place that replenishes the spirit.

Though Snoezelen is not a treatment or cure for dementia or Alzheimer disease, it is a very gentle technique that helps calm and soothe a patient, with no pain and no side effects. Better yet, it is one that seems to be getting good results through a process of sensory over stimulation. By making the senses do some work, the theory goes, Snoezelen helps reconnect dementia patients to the world they left behind.

Snoezlen grew out of two primary sources. Research into sensory deprivation in the 60s showed that an under stimulated brain will start hallucinating in order to make up for the lost sensory input. Then, in the early 70s, behavioral studies were done on institutionalized geriatric patients, studies that concentrated for the first time on the institutional environment. When that environment is enriched, people tend to be less anxious, less depressed. And in general, the quality of life improves.

Using this therapy, we have witnessed otherwise detached patients have moments of appreciation for the environment around them. It provides them with a positive interaction that resonates with them even after the experience is over. Although we realize that Snoezelen is not a treatment or a cure for the patient, it does provide all too rare moments of happiness and peace.

If you are interested in learning more about Snoezelen, please visit the following website.

http://www.flaghouse.com/snoezelenAL.asp