Christine Tuchler's experience with therapy blankets
"It is simply nice to see how the patient's motor restlessness decreases after a short time."
How did you come across the therapy blanket concept?
In exchange with colleagues, we jointly considered whether there are possibilities to additionally stimulate or down-regulate our patients on a somatic level as a complement or support to our cognitive work. This is how we came across these really practical therapy blankets.
In which medical fields do you think the use of therapy blankets is sensible? Where do you already successfully use therapy blankets?
In relaxation and imagination exercises, I find it very helpful to offer patients a weighted blanket. Due to the pleasant pressure on the body, often overstimulated patients can down-regulate more quickly. I find it especially helpful in my work with trauma, ADHD, or sensory integration disorder. Down-regulating the autonomic nervous system because it is constantly overstimulated is a primary goal of therapy, especially in stabilization work. Here, the blankets also support through their haptics and pleasant warmth, creating a feeling of safety and security.
Even outside the medical field, such as in kindergartens during morning circle to increase concentration in class, or for any form of sleep problems due to restlessness, weighted blankets and collars can be used.
Your conclusion from a personal or medical perspective
It is important that the weighted blanket feels individually suitable for the patient. If it is too heavy or too light, in my experience this can increase physical restlessness or lead to an unpleasant feeling of pressure. It is simply nice to see how the patient's motor restlessness decreases after a short time. Experience shows that a training effect occurs; the more often the blankets are used, the faster the body finds calm. Especially children demand the blanket themselves after multiple uses when they need it. It is nice to see how intuitively, especially the youngest patients (2-5 years), use or reject the weighted blankets on days when they do not need them.