SENSE-GARDEN

SENSE-GARDEN ASSOCIATION
Individualized Immersive Spaces

Assisting people with Neurocognitive Disorders

The first SENSE-GARDEN project (AAL/Call2016/054-b/2017, implementation period June 2017 - November 2020) was funded by AAL Programme, co-funded by the European Commission and National Funding Authorities of Norway, Belgium, Romania, and Portugal. Since then, several Research & Development projects have been developed in the context of SENSE-GARDEN.

Currently, the non-profit SENSE-GARDEN Association has more than 100 members distributed all over Europe and it is specialized in assiting people living with neurocognitive disorders. There are SENSE-GARDEN Centers in daily operation in Belgium, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and the Netherlands.

become a member GO TO THE CENTERS' WEBSITE

Research Network

We are a multidisciplinary organization focused on new approaches to Mental Health and Wellbeing. We have a network with both academic, non-profit, and commercial partners, focused on fostering Research & Development projects to improve people's lives through innovative technology and cutting-edge therapeutic approaches. We operate in several European countries and collaborate with the Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Faculty of Technology and Science of University Camilo José Cela in Madrid, Spain.

Mental Health Technologies

innovative technology for a higher purpose

Our approach to Mental Health Technologies includes Emotions-based Sense Stimulation sessions and Meditation and Guidance sessions, both supported by a digital environment.

Education in Digital Sense Stimulation and Virtual Welfare Technology for Mental Health Professionals

The SENSE-GARDEN Association is collaborating with AOF, Lister Competence, Ryfylke IKS and the Odda municipality in Norway to develop an educational program that focuses on sense stimulation aimed at habilitation and rehabilitation of children, young people, adults and elderly. Sensory stimulation through the use of images, light, interactive activities, sound and scent has proven to have a positive effect on communication ability, sleep and appetite, as well as reducing anxiety and need for pain relief.

This educational program for professionals of mental health deals with topics such as ethics, communication, interaction, sensory understanding and sense stimulation, habilitation and rehabilitation processes, digital and virtual competence and welfare technology.

Learn more

Education in Mental Health Technologies for NTNU Students

We offer different lectures, workshops and mentorship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology as part of the program "Innovative Societies with Virtual Reality and Robots: The Future of Welfare Technology", included in the EiT Master Degree. The use of innovative technological tools in the context of Mental Health is one of our areas of expertise. Part of this educational program takes place in our Metaverse Campus, where we have been developing educational and research programs in collaboration with worldwide universities for years.

More information

Virtual Therapy at Home

In addition to the physical immersive spaces, we have developed technological solutions both for receiving immersive therapy at home and for teaching professionals in virtual environments.

A portable SENSE-GARDEN can create the sensory experiences at home, only requiring a common TV and the SENSE-GARDEN Box especially designed to be used in a smaller space.

We have also created the first Mental Health and Well-being Center of the Metaverse, SENSE-GARDEN VR, in order to explore the potential of virtual worlds in providing therapeutic and coping mechanisms to young people dealing with anxiety or depression.

Request more information

^{Box powered by ePoint.be}

Consciousness Research

Mindfulness and Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness

We are also interested in the intersections of technology and Non-ordinary States of Consciousness, and how digital tools and virtual reality can be used to facilitate meditative states and develop attentional capabilities. We are working in the context of Consciousness Studies, by bringing Psychedelic Research and Mindfulness as new domains for our SENSE-GARDEN technology, in order to explore their synergetic effect on well-being.
During the last decades, academic research is providing significant evidence about the low toxicity and remarkable therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. Additionally, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy has also shown very possitive results in anxiety and depression dissorders. There is a direct connection between the phenomenological aspect of meditative and psychedelic experiences, including the direct experience of transcendence, and its impact on mental health. Finding new pathways to Welfare Technology implies a multidisciplinary approach, and in the context of Mental Health, requires an open look at the aforementioned fields of research. Additionally, In order to contribute with both research and educational programs in the context of Non-Ordinary States of Conciousness, we created the European Institute of Consciousness Research.

GO TO the INSTITUTE WEBSITE

Fostering Mental Health and Wellbeing

SENSE-GARDEN ASSOCIATION Individualized Immersive Spaces Assisting people with Neurocognitive Disorders