ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how the particular space – usually used for relaxation and exploration of the senses – is used within a place that is paradoxically identified with significant distress; an acute mental health ward for adolescents. Despite the importance of space, environments can be difficult to manage when other expectations of care are prioritised in the field of mental health. Sensory approaches were one of the predominant methods to address both physical and emotional aspects of humanity. Despite the considerations, there is little attention paid to these spatial and interactional aspects of sensory approaches, with majority of research focusing on the functional aspects of sensory therapies. Socially, each area is occupied by staff depending on observational tasks and activities and the topic of conversation is monitored depending on the age of adolescents present. A young person diagnosed with autism admitted to an adolescent inpatient unit for affective and behavioural problems was seen to be jumping from stacked chairs.
