Monday 14 May 2018

Jo Ann Danchik And The Use Of Art Techniques As Emotional Therapy

By Dorothy Hughes


We are certainly living in times of hardships and certain struggles. The world has become a rather difficult place to live in and sometimes one needs a bit of an emotional security blanket and a place for their thoughts and emotions to feel safe. One such way of obtaining emotional comfort is through art, specifically the art of water color painting therapy, as Jo Ann Danchik suggests. Since many a moon ago, human beings have manifested their need to be heard and to express their feelings and emotions, and this has often been done through the use of various forms of art.

Therapy is a form of treatment that is highly recommended for people suffering from dementia or Alzheimer. At its core, therapy allows the individual a safe place to truly express themselves and their emotions without the burden and the expectation to remember who they are and also recognize friends and family. Therapy allows patients to feel normal as if they are getting to know a new person. This method of therapy does, however, stop working as the Alzheimer stages start to grow.

What then tends to happen is that the patient starts to have outbursts as they grow more and more frustrated with themselves. This is when regular one on one conversation therapy stops yielding desired outcomes and therapists are forced to find various ways of opening communication channels with the patient. A great tool that has become quite popular is the use of art as a source of therapy, specifically painting.

This is quite often found in children who have seen a traumatic action or have been through a traumatic action. In fact, in kids it can go a step further, with some kids completely shutting down after such trauma. In some cases, children may stop talking all together.

This is where painting as a therapy form really shines through. It allows the individual a pressure less environment to heal from the trauma they have endured while giving them the tools to also process what has happened to them. Most therapists fear that individuals who have had traumatic events happen to them struggle to process the occurrence.

In a number of cases, displacement of emotions tends to occur. Where the individual will place blame on themselves. Using painting allows individuals to correctly asses the event without dissecting it. Although some argue that art doesn t fully get to the bottom of the issue, many therapists disagree.

Colors emit emotions, they stir up certain memories, thoughts, and feelings by the mere sight of looking at them. This is called association and using a colour in one s artwork helps you to emote. Paintings tend to be a security blanket of emotions where you can simply tell how the artist was feeling on the sole basis of the colours they chose to use.

Art is a form of freedom, and one thing that Alzheimer s patients are in need of is a little freedom from the burden of their condition. Art allows for that escape and gives them something to use to hold on to some of their memories or to access these memories again.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment