Replacing Seclusion & Restraint Practices in Psychiatry With Sensory Rooms

Abstract

The use of seclusion and restraint (S/R) in acute psychiatric inpatient settings persists as a controversial practice, causing significant harm to patients and stress to staff. This policy brief examines the ethical, financial, and systemic implications of S/R and advocates for replacing S/R with sensory rooms—an evidence-based approach fostering emotion regulation, patient autonomy, and trauma-informed care. Recognizing that eliminating S/R may not be immediately feasible, this brief proposes an incremental approach through a hypothetical pilot program at Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital: converting an isolation room, or a room where a patient receives intervention separately from other patients, on each psychiatric inpatient unit into a sensory room, alongside incentives to reduce overall S/R usage. Sensory rooms can then be evaluated as a humane and cost-effective alternative to S/R practices. This policy brief aims to advance knowledge on patient-centered interventions in mental health care and underscores the ethical imperatives and financial incentives for legislative and organizational policy reform in psychiatric care.

Keywords: seclusion, restraint, sensory rooms, psychiatric inpatient care, policy reform, trauma-informed care, social justice