Carleton University
Art therapy treatment has shown a promising effect on the alleviation of psychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Many patients with dementia are facing the Alzheimer’s symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion, cognitive impairment, getting lost, difficulties coping with new situations, and also they are having problems in expressing feelings verbally. The use of art therapy helps patients with Alzheimer’s disease to deal with their symptoms in many different ways. It encourages people to express their feelings non-verbally whereas they can no longer do so with words. That will help them to release their negative emotions through communication and connection with others. Also, art therapy can improve concentration by developing the patients’ abilities that remain intact. It can bond the relationship closer between the caregiver and the loved one with Alzheimer’s patients (Lliades, 2009). Thus, art therapy could have a positive impact on patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
The media article, “Easing Alzheimer’s Symptoms with Art Therapy” highlights some of the benefits of using art therapy for a person with Alzheimer’s disease. This article shows that art therapy treatment could be a powerful tool, specifically when people with Alzheimer’s disease are no longer able to express their inner feelings in the form of words. According to the author, when the art therapy is applied to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, they have the possibility to express their thoughts and feelings through creating or viewing works of art. There are many benefits of this kind of activity for the patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease: they provide relief from negative emotions, eliminate the feelings of loneliness and isolation, improve concentration, promote interpretive and expressive abilities of the patients, and decrease their disruptive behavior. The way of communication by means of art is very beneficial as patients with time lose their ability to express themselves with words (Lliades 2009). However, the media article does not mention the process of how the art therapy work, therefore, it made me put under question the accuracy of the information presented.
In this paper I will try to critique some of the information presented in the above-mentioned article and provide two empirical research articles to support my claims. By doing so, this paper will help me understand whether the art therapy has any effect on patients with Alzheimer’s disease based on the evidence provided from the research or not.
Research Study #1: Controlled study on the cognitive and psychological effect of coloring drawing in mild Alzheimer’s disease patients.
The main goal of the study is to evaluate the effect of art therapy treatment in patients with dementia by comparing it with the control group that used calculation training. The evaluation consisted of multiple items, such as the patients’ cognitive function, quality of life, vitality, mood, behavior and burden on caregivers, as well as memory and orientation. The study examined thirty-nine patients with Alzheimer’s disease who showed slight cognitive impairments. These patients were randomly assigned to both art therapy and control groups. In the art therapy group, patients were involved in coloring abstract patterns with pastel crayons. However, in the calculation group, the test subjects were required to do simple calculations, for instance, to add or multiply numbers. The investigations were conducted on a weekly basis during the period of 12 weeks ( Hattori et al.,2011).
In the result section of the article, the researchers compared the results of evaluation items before and after the process of investigation for each group and identified which item showed a significant result. The cognitive function and memory scores tended to improve in the calculation training group compared to art therapy group, Also, vitality, mood and quality of life appeared to improve in the art therapy group compared to calculation training group, but no significant differences in the other items were noted (behavioral impairment, their caregivers’ sense of burden, memory and orientation).
According to the media article, the art therapy helps patients to express their inner thoughts and feelings through viewing or creating art (Lliades, 2009). However, taking into account the details from the research study, dementia causes decline in cognitive function. Therefore, their findings prove that the art therapy doesn’t have any effect on improving the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Hattori et al., 2011). Hence, how can patients suffering from the cognitive function deficit express their feelings or thoughts simply by creating or viewing works of art? In my opinion, the negative aspect of the media article is that it does not provide explanations of how art therapy helps patients in expressing their feelings. Also, it doesn’t contain any information regarding specific types of the art style that may encourage patients in expressing their inner feelings. Further, it’s not clear at all how the whole process of expressing inner thoughts and feelings influences patients and make them feel better. Furthermore, the media article vaguely states that viewing works of art can have a calming effect on patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Lliades, 2009). However, the research does not present any evidence related to the above-mentioned fact. The media article failed to consider an important thing related to the therapy: it was not indicated on which stage of the disease the therapy was the most effective. This leads to over-generalization of the potential effect of the art therapy on all patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It is important to mention the authors of the article state that the art therapy does not have effect on people with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Research Study #2: A Multi-centre Randomized Control Group Trial on the Use of Art Therapy for Older People with Dementia.
The primary goal of the study is to evaluate the long-term effect of the art therapy for older people with dementia by comparing it to the activity group. The researchers measured peoples’ responses within two sessions: outside therapy and within therapy. In the outside therapy session, the researchers analyzed the effect of the art therapy versus activity group on depression, well-being and mood, cognition, memory and attention. In the within therapy session, the scientists tested if there were any changes in mental acuity, physical involvement, calmness, sociability in art therapy group versus activity group. All these factors were examined at baseline, 10, 20, and 40 weeks with one and three months follow-up. It was found that in art therapy group patients with dementia showed an increase in depression over time after the course of therapy. However, there were no differences or changes over time found in well- being, mood, cognition, memory, and attention after the art therapy.
The media article highlights the fact that the art therapy helps patients with Alzheimer’s disease to improve their concentration, eliminates some of the negative emotions, promotes relaxation, and improves mood. However, it fails to address whether the therapy is a long-term one. The researchers concluded that the art therapy has an immediate effect on patients with dementia, however, this effect does not last for a long time (Rusted et al., 2006).Unfortunately, the author of the article does not consider whether the effect of art therapy on patients with dementia is a long-lasting one. The negative aspect of the media article is that it does state how mood and concentration were measured, however, there is no information regarding the methods of changes’ assessment. In other words, when they found an improvement in mood and concentration after the therapy was conducted, how did they measure that? In the research completed by Rusted et al., (2006) mood was assessed by means of Bond-lader Mod Scale and concentration by the use of Tests of Everyday Attention (TEA). Therefore, the authors had a specific way of measurement for both mood and concentration.
Conclusion
The media article highlights some of the positive aspects of using art therapy on patients with Alzheimer’s disease, however it was assumed that the therapy would benefit people in the future. The researchers found that there is an immediate effect of the therapy (within therapy session), but this effect did not last for a long time (Outside therapy session), the effect of the therapy decreased with time. Although there is helpful information about the benefit of art therapy presented in the media article, but still it’s unclear how this therapy works. On balance, when doing therapy to patients, it’s important to consider if the effect of the therapy will last or may be just a temporary one since it influences the correct treatment of the patients.
References
Lliades, C. (2009). Easing Alzheimer’s Symptoms With Art Therapy. Everyday Health. Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/alzheimers/alzheimers-art-therapy.aspx.
Hattori, H., Hattori, C., Hokao, C., Mizushima, K., &Mase, T. (2011). Controlled study on the cognitive and psychological effect of coloring and drawing in mild Alzheimer's disease patients. Geriatrics& Gerontology International,11(4), 431-437.
Rusted, J., Sheppard, L., & Waller, D. (2006). A multi-centre randomized control group trial on the use of art therapy for older people with dementia.Group Analysis, 39(4), 517-536.
