The personal experience behind a professional movement

When Dr Bliss Cavanagh was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the age of nine, she never imagined that her experience would one day help transform how Australia designs its healthcare environments.

Growing up, she found calm and control through creative spaces that engaged her senses – colour, texture, sound and movement. Years later, that personal discovery became the foundation of a PhD exploring how sensory environments can reduce anxiety and improve wellbeing.

“Living with Tourette’s has taught me to understand the power of the senses,” says Dr Cavanagh. “When a space is designed with intention, it can completely change how we feel and function.”

Through her company, Creative Sensory Spaces, she now helps healthcare organisations design environments that do just that.

The problem with conventional healthcare spaces

Healthcare is built on care, yet the environments where clinicians work are often the opposite – noisy, overstimulating and clinical.

Research shows that excessive noise and harsh lighting increase stress hormones and fatigue, both for staff and patients. In settings where calm, clarity and focus are essential, the design of the space can work against the very outcomes healthcare leaders are trying to achieve.

“We expect staff to deliver compassionate care in spaces that don’t care for them,” Dr Cavanagh explains. “When the environment is stressful, everyone feels it – from the nurses and doctors to the patients sitting in the waiting room.”

The cost of ignoring this is high. Chronic workplace stress contributes to burnout, absenteeism and staff turnover, all of which impact patient care.

The science of calm

Dr Cavanagh’s approach blends art, science and psychology. Drawing on neuroscience and occupational therapy research, she designs environments that support emotional regulation and focus through sensory engagement.

“Sensory design is about helping people feel safe, calm and connected,” she says. “When you engage the senses in positive ways – through sound, texture, light or scent – you help regulate the nervous system.”

This is particularly relevant for healthcare, where staff operate under constant sensory pressure. Soft lighting, acoustic control and tactile materials can lower stress responses, while colour and visual design can subtly support energy and focus.

“Even small changes can make a big difference,” she adds. “Integrating sensory-based design principles can provide opportunities for people to pause, reset and return cognitively and emotionally restored, improving mental health and team performance”.

From studios to hospitals

Creative Sensory Spaces began as a niche project but quickly evolved into a national consultancy. The company now designs, manufactures, delivers and installs projects with hospitals, clinics, schools, public venues and workplaces across Australia to embed sensory design into the way people work and heal.

Each space is informed by evidence and tailored to the specific needs of the organisation. A key difference between a sensory room and a “quiet” or “calm” room is centred around purpose-designing for clinical outcomes and eliciting significant emotional changes. A sensory room is a proactive intervention that is designed based on the end-user outcomes. A sensory room in a paediatric hospital might use strategic sensory input to regulate emotions and reduce distress, while in a disability day program might tailor sensory input to engage participants and support transitions between activities.

“Every organisation has a sensory story,” Dr Cavanagh says. “Our job is to uncover and purpose-design what people need to feel safe, grounded and ready to do their best work.”

Designing for the future of healthcare

Dr Cavanagh’s vision extends beyond individual projects. She is leading what she calls a Universal Sensory Movement – a shift in how we think about inclusion and wellbeing.

“Designing for sensory needs isn’t about accommodation, it’s about equity,” she explains. “When we create environments that support everyone’s sensory experience, we don’t just meet compliance standards. We create conditions where people can thrive.”

Her message builds on the growing recognition that healthcare design directly shapes workforce wellbeing and patient outcomes. In her recent collaboration with Veri Health, Dr Cavanagh explored how sensory spaces are helping healthcare organisations across Australia create calmer, more inclusive workplaces.

Read the feature: How inclusive sensory spaces are transforming healthcare workplaces. 

As sensory science moves from niche innovation to strategic leadership tool, healthcare providers are beginning to see inclusive design as central to performance, not peripheral to it.

“Healthcare is changing,” she says. “Leaders now understand that caring for their people is caring for their patients. Sensory design is a practical way to make that care visible in every part of the organisation.”

A call to healthcare leaders

For Dr Cavanagh, this is about reimagining what a healthy workplace looks and feels like.

“We’ve designed systems around efficiency, but not around humanity,” she says. “When we design for the senses, we design for the whole person. That’s where true innovation begins.”

Her hope is that sensory design will soon be as standard in healthcare planning as infection control or patient safety – because caring for carers should be built into the blueprint.