Susana Cámara Leret
smells can trigger vivid memories of previous experiences
When people play a game, they hardly ever need external motivation; the game itself is sufficiently rewarding to keep on playing. One reason for this is that game designers use storytelling elements like characters and settings to entice players to keep on playing. However, the use of narrative is not limited to game design; it also forms the basis for many forms of therapy. As people are asked to relate their personal stories, they begin to detect patterns of behaviour that may aid or hinder their recovery.
One effective trigger for these personal stories is people’ s sense of smell: experienced as either pleasant or unpleasant, smells are often linked to, and can trigger vivid memories of previous experiences. We have been using this associative power of smell to explore the construction of meaning through personal stories in a series of experimental design workshops at the Mistral clinic and detox centre in The Hague. In this context of addiction and drug rehabilitation, we ask patients to explore emotional associations from their past. Using such an abstract tool for communication creates a low risk environment which encourages patients to talk about past experiences. We prepared these sessions in collaboration with the Olfactive Design Studio from International Flavours and Fragrances, and, this year, on the 10th of January, began the first of a series of interactive smell workshops with a select group of Mistral’ s patients. As these patients use the sensory stimuli to explore their emotional associations with the past, they aim to discover an encouraging, positive smell that they and Mistral can associate with rehabilitation. These sessions serve to reveal and characterise ways in which the different stages of rehabilitation in the clinic are experienced.
9