University Calm Rooms

At the university we have a fully operational and integrated Counselling and Mental Health Service, offering one-one sessions for students in need. Sometimes counselling is not always necessary and providing time and space to process thoughts may be all that is required. A sensory room can provide a calming experience. It can provide a safe space, an area for relaxation, focusing on the senses such as vision and sound. MyQolTM developed the technology to offer a sensory experience via a mobile tablet interface. A mobile sensory room (Calm Room) was created at the University of Bradford in conjunction with equipment supplied by MyQoLTM in the academic year 2019-20. The room was available on a drop in basis to any member of the university community and in particular, students.

Within the Counselling Service at the university, a room was identified which was quiet and peaceful. The room was furnished with comfortable chairs, bean bags; it had calming pastel walls, screens and indoor plants to create a physical environment conducive to relaxation. From a projector, an interchangeable image was selected from the MyQolTM mobile tablet. This was projected onto the walls to create an image which filled the room, giving the impression of being immersed in the scene e.g. a forest waterfall, the sea, a wheat field. Calming sounds e.g. birdsong, gentle music or a crackling fire filled the room to encompass the senses of sound and vision together.

Download the case study here