How do you define strength?
For some, it might be defined through how heavy you can lift when you are in the gym. For others, strength might look like your capacity to be calm in a stressful situation.
Putting it into context of aged care,
“Strengths are perceived as health assets and are viewed as skills, capacities, actions, talents, potential, and gifts in each individual, each family member, each team member, the family as a whole, and the community. A strengths-based approach is built upon a positive relationship and utilizes a whole-person, patient-centered intervention that leverages individual strengths to manage health conditions and promote health and wellbeing”(Gao et al., 2018, p.1).
Why is it important to have a strengths-based approach in aged care?
I once heard someone compare her mother’s aged care home to be in “God’s waiting room”. Many people share this perspective. They have an image of residential aged care to be a place of frail and helpless older people. Having this perspective can be damaging towards the residents because it directly affects how you treat them.
While there are times when residents need assistance, we don’t always have to do things for them. This takes away their sense of agency and perpetuates the stigma that they are helpless. Providing the right support is a balancing act between safety and autonomy.
If we want to change the idea of residential aged care being “God’s waiting room”, we have to start with ourselves. There is a much-needed unlearning of ageist perspectives, even among people who work in aged care. One way to do this is to understand that older people ARE capable and to provide opportunities for them to contribute their “skills, capacities, actions, talents, potential and gifts”.
What makes art therapy a strengths-based approach in aged care?
In art therapy for aged care, residents are actively engaged in the creative process. They are encouraged to make their own choices and express their individuality. Residents are supported to learn new art techniques and we focus on their capacities, not their limitations.
Empowered to make independent decisions
When I facilitate individual art therapy for aged care residents, I always give options for the residents to choose from. For example, in choosing which colour to paint the background in I ask them what their preference is between two or three colours. They get to choose which one they like. They give their own input on the artwork and it becomes a collaborative process instead of them following instructions. Ultimately their choices influence what the final artwork will look like. There is a basic structure to start from, but they decide the outcome.
Making independent decisions in a residential aged care home can be empowering. A lot of choices are already made for the residents. From the time they wake up, what they wear, who they sit with for meals…and the list goes on.
In art therapy, residents are encouraged to make autonomous choices about the creative process.
This can look like choosing your preferred art material, your favourite colour, images you want to use etc. Having opportunities to make your own choices puts you in a position of control.
Opportunity for expressing your identity
Because you are in control of the outcome of your artwork, you have the opportunity to create something original and express your identity. One of our guiding principles in Engaged Art Therapy is “we affirm identity beyond diagnosis”.
When we meet a person living with dementia, their diagnosis often takes over who they are. The way people treat them and see them changes. It’s very common in aged care to hear staff refer to residents by their behaviour like “the aggressive one” or “the one who wanders”. It’s easy to forget the person before the diagnosis. Art therapy changes that.
When you create something personal, it’s an expression of who you are. I used to work with a resident in the memory support unit who didn’t see himself as an artist but once he joined our art therapy group, he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. His room turned into an art gallery over time and he established a new identity as “the artist”. Another resident who worked in high fashion maintains her glamorous look in the way she dresses and through her art. By using materials that she resonates with such as glitter, gold and sparkling gems, her art very much reflects her personality.
Learning new ways of creating
Research shows that our brain creates new neural pathways when we do something for the first time. In art therapy with aged care residents, this can look like discovering a new art material, learning a new technique, or using unusual materials to create art. Who would have thought you can use shaving cream and food dye to make a marbled pattern on paper? Offering new creative experiences not only expands on their current knowledge of art but also makes art therapy sessions more dynamic and engaging.
Moreover, it challenges the stigma that older people living with dementia often have to endure. With the right kind of support, they are capable of learning new and creative ways of art-making. I often receive feedback from family members in awe of what their loved ones have made – not solely because it was visually appealing but because they were engaged in the process. By tailoring art therapy sessions to their needs, they can be empowered to learn new techniques. For ideas on art activities for aged care residents, read our article about activities beyond colouring-in.
Sense of achievement from the output
In art therapy, the end process of art-making usually takes precedence over the end product. You often hear the saying “process over product”. What this means is your engagement with the art process matters more than the aesthetic quality of your product. While this is true for most cases, in art therapy for aged care, the end product does matter. This doesn’t mean we make art for aesthetic purposes. However, the output must not be dismissed because it brings a sense of achievement knowing that they are capable of creating an original artwork.
Oftentimes residents ask me to display their completed artwork on their walls. This is an indication that they take pride in their creation. It also becomes a point of conversation between visitors and staff members. Having an their artworks on display strengthens their artist identity.
Focus on capacities, not limitations
A diagnosis of dementia can come with many limitations. I’ve heard people say “she used to be a painter” or “he was a very good drawer” like it was a thing of the past. As we get older, our bodies go through changes and we may be unable to continue our creative passions due to physical ailments. Moving into residential aged care where they are less likely able to practice the skills they once had, their creative passions really do become a thing of the past.
Providing the ideal environment free from distractions, having the appropriate art materials available and having a supportive presence to tailor the art therapy sessions to their needs enables the resident’s capacities. This is the value of individual support – the ability to respond to each person’s individual needs. By breaking down the creative process in a way that encourages and empowers the resident, we focus on their strengths instead of the limitations. They may not be able to draw or paint like they used to, but the drive to create and express is still there and it needs to be nurtured.
Every resident deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Changing the way we perceive older people living with dementia is the first step. They are capable. They have something to offer. Find out more how art therapy supports older people living with dementia through our services.
Reference:
Gao, G., Pieczkiewicz, D., Kerr, M., Lindquist, R., Chi, C. L., Maganti, S., ... & Monsen, K. A. (2018). Exploring older adults’ strengths, problems, and wellbeing using de-identified electronic health record data. In AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings (Vol. 2018, p. 1263). American Medical Informatics Association.
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