Art Therapy and Creative Coping Techniques for Older Adults

Art and the therapeutic uses of art provide older people with valuable ways in which to express and share their feelings, needs and fears, and with a resource for coping with life's major changes. This intensely practical book is filled with step-by-step activities for art therapists and other professionals to use in work with older people either individually or in groups. The author provides short warm-up exercises designed to encourage participants to 'open up', become more at ease with sharing in front of others, and more comfortable with expressing themselves creatively. She offers ideas for engaging and innovative creative projects across a range of media, including art, music, movement, poetry and creative writing, all of which can be adapted, personalised or combined to meet the particular needs of individual participants. Points to consider when working with this client group are explored, and case study examples, with participants' artwork, are included throughout. Appropriate for use with all relatively able older adults, including those with depression, anxiety or in the early stages of dementia, this will be an invaluable tool for art therapists as well as counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers and carers.