Treating Patients One Puzzle At A Time

Experiential Therapy

Art, dance/movement, drama, music, recreation/adventure and relaxation are part of a category of therapies collectively referred to as experiential therapy. At Rogers Memorial Hospital, experiential therapy is thoroughly integrated into our patients’ treatment experience. More than a third of the programming (35%) our patients receive is experiential in nature.

Rogers has one of the largest experiential therapy programs in the area, with nearly 40 experiential therapists working at our five locations in Wisconsin. Our experiential therapists help patients make stronger, deeper connections to key concepts covered in their ‘talk’ therapy sessions by reframing them in concrete ways. Rogers' therapists provide encouragement and support as well as interpretation and redirection, skill education and non-intrusive observation that help shift patients’ perceptions about their illness to new, recovery-focused ways of thinking.

The Nail Stack

The Nail Stack is a puzzle that is used as an opportunity to identify obstacles and improve a patient’s self-esteem. Participants are told they must balance 14 nails on a single nail head and the nails cannot touch anything except each other. Our patients work as a team to tackle this challenge. Sometimes, the level of frustration rises as the puzzles seems unsolvable. When frustration happens, experiential therapists at Rogers use that moment as a learning opportunity to show patients how to cope with everyday stresses they may encounter. (Scroll Down To See Nail Stack Solution)

Nail Stack Solution

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