2018 Conference Auckland Alzheimers New Zealand

Tackling Dementia: It's everyone's business

Presentation Viola Lombard

 Artistic Practice with People with Dementia

People with dementia depend on people who are advocating a different kind of getting older. (Sculptor Birgit Rehfeld)

I will introduce two art therapy approaches that I have applied in working with people with

dementia in Germany in the past five years. Based on my participants ́ paintings, their own feedback, and the feedback of their relatives, I will give valuable insights into their lives and their experienced benefits of artistic practice. This is an innovative approach to the way we work with people suffering from dementia and it directly links to the programme themes 'Innovations - from the margins to the centre: New ideas and thinking'.

I will also touch on my studies in the field, where I explicitly researched how artistic practice can lead to an improvement in the quality of life for dementia patients, and how it can lead to a stregthening of self-confidence.

Dementia relates the loss of cognitive ability, but it also has an impact on emotional wellbeing. Artistic practice is an effective treatment as it has a proven relaxing and balancing effect on people with dementia.