Snoezelen Therapy in Adults With Alcohol Dependence and Adults With Schizophrenia

Snoezelen® room, as a multisensory interaction environment that has been widely used in studies involving older adults, people with neurological conditions (including children and adults with disabilities), neurodegenerative conditions, and people struggling with depressive and anxiety disorders. Scientific evidence indicates a significant reduction in depression and anxiety levels in people using Snoezelen® therapy, as well as an improvement in the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. In a recent case study, Snoezelen® therapy improved emotion recognition and the development of emotional functions in a patient with alexithymia, highlighting the potential of this therapy in psychiatric rehabilitation. To date, few scientific studies of Snoezelen® therapy have been conducted with psychiatric patients, as confirmed by a recent review (Hudon et al. 2023). There have also been no studies of Snoezelen® therapy specifically targeting groups of patients struggling with addiction or schizophrenia. The lack of scientific evidence regarding the potential impact of Snoezelen® therapy on improving outcomes in psychiatric patients prompted the development of this study to better understand the effectiveness of the therapy in this patient group. The results obtained in the study will be innovative and will allow us to answer the question whether therapy in the Snoezelen ® room in people suffering from schizophrenia and adults with alcohol addiction will result in improved cognitive functioning, organization of daily activities, improvement in the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, improvement in mood, including a reduction in emotions such as anxiety and sadness, as well as an increase in the patient's overall quality of life and emotional intelligence.