Providence Sunday Journal
September 23, 2007

By Cynthia Conant-Arp

Robert Whitcomb’s thoughtful and informative article “Aging with the arts” described an approach that has benefited thousands of Rhode Islanders with memory loss thanks to art therapy programs at Hope Alzheimer’s Center and other day centers around the state.

For 12 years now, art therapy has been a centerpiece of our program at Hope – and the results we’ve seen for people with memory loss mirror those discussed in the article. When participants are painting or working in clay or participating in music programs they become much more focused. There is a reawakened sense of self and a feeling of freedom as they create objects that are true to their particular vision. There’s joy, too, and pride in their accomplishments -- as there should be, because the works of art our participants create are often startlingly beautiful.

Does working with the arts truly help Alzheimer’s patients? Based on what I’ve seen I know it does – and not just for people like the artist described in Mr. Whitcomb’s essay. I’ve seen art therapy help people who haven’t drawn since childhood. The opportunity to work creatively expands their world and helps them rediscover memories and feelings that once appeared to have been lost.

The staff at Hope has been consistently enthusiastic about the program because they see participants who have been withdrawn begin to talk again, discussing their work and the events it helps them recall. They see people who have been confused find focus in creating – and carry that calmness into other parts of their lives.

Families are enthusiastic as well. They report that their loved ones come home “beaming” and that even those who have lost nearly all of their short-term memories recognize their own work weeks after they completed it. One caregiver has watched in delight as her 97-year-old mother, who had never drawn, has created a collection of exceptionally lovely paintings. Even more important, in the five years during which the participant has been involved in our art program her condition has remained stable – a remarkable situation, given the usually relentless nature of memory loss disorders.

It’s stories like these that have convinced many physicians that adult day centers can play a real role in actually slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Not only do places like Hope help keep people with memory loss living at home, they enrich lives in a way that lets people, as Mr. Whitcomb puts it, “retain or reawaken their core identities.” Painting is just one strategy in a program that includes music, dancing and the other arts, as well as close attention, medical supervision and companionship.

In fact, although it sounds like a bit of a paradox, sending someone with Alzheimer’s to a place like Hope for a few hours each day is often the best way to allow them to continue living at home for as long as possible. That can be hard for some families to accept but, increasingly, experience shows it to be the case. Indeed, the combination of days filled with art, music, and enjoyable mental stimulation, paired with the love families provide at home, can go a very long way to keeping people aware, communicating and enjoying life.

As our population ages and more of us suffer memory loss, places like Hope that enlist the power of the arts to help people retain their dignity, individuality and capacity for joy will become increasingly important.