AMSS Manual
"The AMSS manual will be published soon to offer practice-based direction to mental health professionals. If you have questions, feel free to contact to Jackie at info@amsstherapy.com."
ABSTRACT
This AMSS therapy was conducted in the in-patient geriatric behavioral unit at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Its goal was to develop the application of Applied Multi- Sensory Stimulation (AMSS) for patients suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, it was designed to examine whether the Applied Multi-Sensory Stimulation (AMSS) approach with selected art materials as sensory arousals can deliver therapeutic benefits – both promising emotional and marked behavioral rehabilitation changes to populations with severe Dementia and Alzheimer’s. On the clinical side, improved quality of life for the Dementia population is proved by improving emotional tone, increased interaction with others, and a reduction in problematic behavior. On the other hand, the study highlights the possibility of reduced healthcare costs, reflected by possible reduction in medication as well as medical staff time in managing aggressive patients. Thus, this study emphasized both the benefits to the patients as well as potential “bottom line” savings for the institution. Other findings of the AMSS study included a trigger discovery period, and the importance of the therapist’s direction, both of which call attention to the necessary direct involvement of the researcher as a therapist in the approach to dementia and Alzheimer’s participants with art-psychotherapy, representing an advance over past uses of art therapy/psychotherapy with this population.
"The AMSS manual will be published soon to offer practice-based direction to mental health professionals. If you have questions, feel free to contact to Jackie at info@amsstherapy.com."
ABSTRACT
This AMSS therapy was conducted in the in-patient geriatric behavioral unit at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Its goal was to develop the application of Applied Multi- Sensory Stimulation (AMSS) for patients suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, it was designed to examine whether the Applied Multi-Sensory Stimulation (AMSS) approach with selected art materials as sensory arousals can deliver therapeutic benefits – both promising emotional and marked behavioral rehabilitation changes to populations with severe Dementia and Alzheimer’s. On the clinical side, improved quality of life for the Dementia population is proved by improving emotional tone, increased interaction with others, and a reduction in problematic behavior. On the other hand, the study highlights the possibility of reduced healthcare costs, reflected by possible reduction in medication as well as medical staff time in managing aggressive patients. Thus, this study emphasized both the benefits to the patients as well as potential “bottom line” savings for the institution. Other findings of the AMSS study included a trigger discovery period, and the importance of the therapist’s direction, both of which call attention to the necessary direct involvement of the researcher as a therapist in the approach to dementia and Alzheimer’s participants with art-psychotherapy, representing an advance over past uses of art therapy/psychotherapy with this population.
