The Use of Alternative Rooms in Forensic and Regular Psychiatric Units: A Scoping Review

(1) Background: Emotional regulation, distress and relational conflicts often occur during hospitalization and rehabilitation on psychiatric units, especially in patients suffering from severe and persistent mental disorders. While widely used in children and geriatric patients, little literature exists on the use and outcomes of alternative rooms in the context of forensic and regular psychiatric units for adult patients. Considering the scarcity of the literature on alternative use, this study is motivated by the following research question: what are the main uses and outcomes of alternative rooms in the context of forensic and regular psychiatric units? The main objective of this study is to conduct a scoping review of the use and outcomes of alternative rooms for the context of psychiatric inpatients. (2) Methods: A systematic search was performed in the electronic databases of MedLine, Web of Science, PsycNet (PsycINFO) and Google Scholar from their inception dates until 2022. (3) Results: A total of nine studies were analyzed. Sensory, multisensory rooms, Snoezelen, and comfort rooms are the types of alternative rooms discussed in these studies. Distress and anxiety reduction, increase in self-esteem, impact on seclusion rates, patient-staff communication and alliances, heart and respiration rate reduction, and improvement of alexithymia were identified among the main uses and outcomes of these rooms. (4) Conclusions: The scarcity of literature available to draw information from for this review and possible impact on improving patient outcomes and quality of treatment in psychiatric units opens the door to future studies to better understand the efficacy of such rooms. Research into the ideal implementation tactics of such rooms, long-term outcomes, and the influence on diverse patient demographics could be areas of improvement in the use of alternative rooms.