What is a Multisensory Therapeutic Environment (MSTE) and is it really worth the bother and the expense to build one? As leading experts who have been pioneering the use of the MSTE’s in challenging therapeutic contexts for many years, we show you why the MSTE might just be the tool you are looking for.
You’re thinking of building an MSTE but don’t know where to begin. There are many ways to approach creating an MSTE and what you put into yours depends on its intended purpose. This article will guide you through the basic principles to take into account when planning your MSTE.
Gathering together all the equipment you need to make up your MSTE is only the first step. Learning how to maximize the use of your equipment in the therapeutic context is the next and most critical step. Read on to learn how to get the most from your MSTE.
As therapists, we want to help people reach their potential, maximize their capacities and function at their best in the world. But what happens when your intended recipient doesn’t respond to help? What happens when the therapy subject is so beaten down by their difficulties that they have become impossible to reach? This article unveils the power of the MSTE to reach the unreachable.
The microcosm of the MSTE is an ideal and safe environment in which to teach skills and coping strategies that can later be transferred to life outside. In our experience of using the MSTE for therapeutic purposes, we have found that transference of lessons learned in the secure confines of the MSTE to the outside world is a powerful tool for equipping patients with complex disabilities for life in the “real world”.
