Cliffside Rehabilitation & Residential Care Center

Therapeutic Recreation

Snoezelen Therapy

Imagine being in a room filled with colored lights dancing on the walls, gentle sounds playing in the background, wonderful scents floating in the air, and bubble tubes, all designed to be stimulating but not overwhelming. Beautiful and fascinating to watch, sound and light walls paint an ever-changing light picture in harmony with the changing pitch and timbre of a variety of soothing music. This is what our clients experience either in our dedicated Snoezelen room or via our Snoezelen a la Carte.

Cliffside has been innovative in bringing a Snoezelen room to our clients. This promotes mental alertness, calm and comfort, and allows our resident to be more oriented to their surroundings. Particularly with those patients who are on ventilators, being more relaxed encourages improved breathing. The relaxed, calming atmosphere of Snoezelen provides an ideal situation for the development of therapeutic relationships and sensory stimulation. As they experience the deep relaxation of Snoezelen, people suffering from tension, depression, or anxiety can relax and open up to discuss their feelings.

Several years ago, Cliffside was innovative in bringing Snoezelen a la Carte to our clients, and after recognizing the effective results, we created an entire room for Snoezelen therapy. A traveling cart with music, aroma, special lighting effects, fiber optic light sprays, and a variety of tactile stimulation items still travels from room to room.

Snoezelen and Pain Control

Caregivers have been turning to Snoezelen to provide relief from acute and chronic pain. Indications are that the Snoezelen environment offers distraction from pain, a "rehumanizing" effect due to deep relaxation, and all the benefits of leisure which might not otherwise be available to pain sufferers. This appears to improve the patient’s outlook, which leads to better health.

Snoezelen, Stroke, and Traumatic Brain Injury

The University Hospital of Ghent, Belgium found that the unique flexibility of Snoezelen produces excellent results, whether patients are agitated or withdrawn, both of which are common side effects of these conditions. Therapists work one-on-one with people who have suffered severe brain damage through injury or stroke. The same Snoezelen equipment that gently stimulates passive individuals can also soothe those prone to agitation. Patients who have achieved optimal alertness are better able to relate to others and their environment.

Snoezelen and Aging/ Alzheimer’s/ Dementia

Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia achieve positive results with Snoezelen. We have seen consistent improvement across a wide spectrum of categories with a broad range of clients including improvement in effective state, cognition, communication, and functional behavior.

Snoezelen allows Cliffside to offer its clients a complete therapy package, addressing both gross-motor competencies and emotional needs, with the goal of moving each person toward the highest possible level of functioning.

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