Relating to a patient’s continuing human qualities, in spite of Alzheimer’s, attending with seriousness to his longing to be heard and understood, in spite of his illness, is the aim of art therapy. Painting and sculpting, symbols and images, color and lines, are all alternative ways to communicate and express ones inner world. A most positive affirmation of art therapy as a tool for therapy with Alzheimer’s patients has come from John Varghese. Varghese is the editor of BACE, published by John Wiley and Sons, in which he provides information about future successful drug discovery. The importance for me, for us, for everyone, is that he found it important to include an Afterword to the purely scientific book, relating to the power of art therapy. This reflects the seriousness with which Varghese views the humanistic approach to Alzheimer’s patients.
A chapter in my book provides assistance in ways to access the desires, tastes, emotions, fears and loneliness of the Alzheimer’s sufferer. ”When Words Have Lost Their Meaning: Alzheimer’s Patients Communicate Through Art.”
