Health & Medical Health Care

The Therapeutic Effect of Art in Memory Care

Can art add value to independent senior living? When searching for senior living residences Massachusetts, you certainly are concerned with the comfort and safety the facility provides. However, the right facility will not only offer stellar security and care, but stimulate and continually engage residents with meaningful activities. This can mean anything from providing social events, enabling everyday activities like cooking and cleaning, and offering art therapy programs.

Often, memory conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia can inhibit successful independent senior living. These patients can suffer from identity loss, and an inability to express themselves due to impaired verbal communications. The art process can bypass this and give the patient an avenue for self-expression. According to Dr. Daniel Potts, art can restore and preserve their sense of self and purpose. A ninety-year-old former artist said she'd been "given her life back" by learning she could still create art.

The stimulation can help the everyday behavioral patterns of those with Alzheimer's and dementia. The neuropsychiatric symptoms can cause behavioral apathy, depression, delusions, and sleep impairment. Anecdotal evidence suggests art therapy has the power to alleviate these symptoms. Rita Hayworth was relaxed and given peace of mind by art therapy. Specific symptoms can improve too. According to some researchers, art therapy "engages attention, provides pleasure, and improves behavior and affect in patients with dementia. Other benefits include enhanced self-esteem and improved communication and reduced anxiety, agitation, and depression." An art therapy program can affect a person's overall sense of wellbeing.

Art therapy can offer meaningful improvements when paired with other activities. For example, art therapy can strengthen relation experiences. The connection built by artistic expression can directly influence better social activity. A facility with offering effective social events and art therapy can create meaningful connections for residents.

Often, Alzheimer's and dementia can diminish a person's interest in everyday tasks. Art therapy can restore their ability to contribute beauty to the world. According to Alzheimers.net, one 80-year-old patient had given up cooking. However, art therapy renewed her interest in cooking so much so that she even prepared Thanksgiving dinner for her family the next year. Facilities can structure an art therapy program with residence involvement in every day activities to add value to their lives.

If you're looking for senior living residences Massachusetts, consider a facility that offers stimulating and engaging art activities to provide the very best memory care for their residents. An art program can add meaning, purpose, and beauty to a person's perspective, as well as alleviate symptoms, for an overall better quality of life.

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