The pilot project was funded by the Alzheimer ’s Society, Brighton, and the following two phases by the Health Foundation UK.

    The author acknowledges her colleagues Drs. Jennifer Rusted and Linda Sheppard, art therapists Barry Falk and Finlay McInally and consultant psychiatrist Dr. Kim Shamash,  who participated throughout; and colleagues who ran the activity groups and supported the project in the institutions we used.

    • This paper is based on a 3 phase reseasrch project which investigated the effectiveness of art therapy groups for older people with dementia. 
    • The culture of exclusion which applies to older people in general is much more devastating for those with mental health problems. 
    • For those with dementia it is catastrophic.

    Introduc tion

    Dementia is normally a disease of older people, though there are a significant number of people who may be affected much earlier in life. Older people may be excluded from participation in meaningful activities and experience discrimination simply because they reach the age of 65 (the normal retirement age in the UK). Dementia is a relentless, cruel condition which robs people of their memories, skills, movement and often their relationships. In other words, their freedom. It leaves enough awareness for sufferers to be aware of their predicament. Contrary to popular views, they do not lose their emotions. Institutions caring for people with dementia can produce a ‘culture of dementia’. Staff, residents and carers can feel there is no hope, no point in doing anything. The residents are deteriorating, they will not get better. Isolated and institutionalised, their quality of life deteriorates to an unacceptable level.

    As mental health professionals we have a responsibility to help to alleviate this suffering and to try and change attitudes about dementia.

    This is not easy because we are reminded of our own ageing process. Many of us will have some experience of dementia through a relative, friend or perhaps a client and face a fear that it could happen to us. It is usually the emotional life of the dementia sufferer that is neglected. Verbal psychotherapy and counselling, even if avail- able, may not be helpful due to the person’s difficulty in articulating their thoughts and feelings. On the basis of a body of case studies, the arts therapies have been shown to be helpful in this respect.

    But, if subjected to an objective analysis, can we say that art therapy helps to improve the quality of living for persons unlucky enough to be in the condition of dementia? Can it help lessen the stigma, the isolation of this illness?

    Wanting to explore this question further, two psychologist colleagues and I embarked upon a research project, which lasted for 9 years and can be divided into three phases.

Phase l: Pilot project , based on 2 weekly art therapy groups run over 12 weeks and 2 weekly control groups (activity) groups run for 12 weeks for a total of 20 patients with moderate to severe dementia. A group-interactive, broadly psychodynamic approach (Waller, 1993) was used by the art therapists and for the activity groups a selection of recreational activities was made from a range currently in use in different centres in the locality.

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Dementia, Exclusion and Art Therapy - Diane Waller - Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK