Painting a path to memory!
October 24th 2011 09:25
In some patients, art therapy helps trigger coordinated brain functions
When Gail Kristensen saw the painting created by his wife, Diane, its resemblance to a truck farm where she had spent part of her childhood struck him immediately. Maybe that's what Diane thought about as she painted a pond ringed by trees.
She can't say for sure. Only 71 years old, Diane has lost much of her memory to what was diagnosed as younger-onset Alzheimer's disease.
It has been nine years since she was diagnosed and four years since the Kristensens moved to Sioux Falls and into Waterford at All Saints. Diane lives in the memory-care unit, Gail in an apartment down the hall.
Diane's paintings - she also created one of flowers in a vase - came through a MnemeTherapy session led by Larry Homan of Coon Rapids, Minn.
Its website defines MnemeTherapy as "the use of everyday pleasures such as singing, movement, painting and story telling in a unique combination to stimulate dramatic changes in the brain."
Wendy Schrag, a registered nurse and Waterford's memory care manager, says she wanted to bring art therapy to residents with dementia and those in assisted living.
"He worked with late-stage Alzheimer's, and what blows my mind is how he was even able to get them to draw a picture," Schrag says.
"So many things we cannot get them to do. But he works one-on-one and synchronizes the brain."
Homan, 42, has been a MnemeTherapist for more than two years after losing his job as a graphic designer for a sign company.
He saw a Craig's List listing for compassionate artists and decided to learn more.
"I've always been an artist," Homan says. "I've been an airbrush artist since 1994. ... I was really searching and praying for a job that would allow me to help people at the same time I used my artistic ability."
Homan works with adults with dementia on a one-on-one basis in half-hour sessions. He begins by giving basic assessment tests to determine their limitations.
He sings "Take Me Out of the Ball Game" with the resident while they swing their hands back and forth.
"There's a lot of left- and right-brain crossovers," he says. "I'm trying to engage both sides of the brain."
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Homan will ask the resident to slap his right hand, observing to see whether they respond with their right hand, left hand in a mirror image or not at all.
If the resident has damage to the right side of the brain, they understand language but have a weak creative side, Homan says.
Then they look at a book that contains paintings to inspire their creativity. Once the resident indicates a painting they like, directed painting begins.
"I liken it to a cooking class where the instructor has the recipe and all the ingredients and tells you what to do," Homan says.
"I pour the paint on paper in strategic areas, then tell them to move the brush to the left or move the brush to the right, all different things meant to reorient the brain."
MnemeTherapy's motto is to "show and let go," Homan says. "The goal is to try and get them to do it on their own."
When the painting is completed, Homan talks with the resident, asking them to pull memories out of their past.
Then he will ask them to give the painting a name. Sometimes that can be a struggle.
Schrag was in the doorway of the creative arts room when Homan asked a resident to name her painting.
"She said, 'I don't know,' and he said, 'Think about something that makes you happy,' " Schrag says.
"She said, 'Buster. Buster was my boyfriend's name.' She named her picture Buster because that made her happy."
MnemeTherapists work with representational paintings, not abstracts, so the person can see the end results - trees in winter or a vase of flowers.
That leads to a sense of accomplishment, as does the effusive praise each resident receives when a painting is completed.
"I don't even have that ability to paint a picture as beautiful as some of those are," Schrag says. "He has incredible talent."
MnemeTherapy doesn't promise a reversal of brain damage, Homan says.
"All we guarantee is a rewarding experience, which most people have. Typically, people are happier when they're done," he says.
"Sometimes some real dramatic things happen: improvement in speech or understanding directions."
Kristensen is anxious for MnemeTherapy to return to Waterford. He is pleased with Diane's experience but has no unrealistic expectations.
"I can't anticipate anything," he says. "The best I can do is to react to behavior and accept it and be happy when it is something as magnificent as this."
Reach Jill Callison at 331-2307 or jcalliso@argusleader.com. Follow her on Twitter at JillCallison.
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