Sunday, May 20, 2018

Water Color Painting Therapy With Jo Ann Danchik

By Dorothy Hughes


Art is truly an expression of self and truth. Well, that is something that many artists attest to be true, one such form of expression that has gained popularity is the art form of watercolour painting therapy. Yes, according to Jo Ann Danchik, art as a form of expression can be used as a therapy tool for most children and adults. Art is a non-invasive way of posing questions and getting the answers, you need without the individually affected feeling vulnerable or manipulated.

Therapy is a form of treatment that is highly recommended for people suffering from dementia or Alzheimer. At its core, therapy allows the individual a safe place to truly express themselves and their emotions without the burden and the expectation to remember who they are and also recognize friends and family. Therapy allows patients to feel normal as if they are getting to know a new person. This method of therapy does, however, stop working as the Alzheimer stages start to grow.

The addition of water colours is a form of psychological programming. Colours are a brain stimulus that is taken in through sight. Using colour helps the individual to associate feelings to specific colours and as such attach them to certain aspects of their memory. Often when a traumatic event or situation occurs it is the brain s default to protect itself from the feeling linked to that particular event. This is when you will find cases of temporary dementia after a traumatic incident, where people report not being able to recall specific details or occurrences within their story. This is because the brain has decided to supress those emotions and thoughts in an attempt to protect the person from the pain and fear they experienced.

Colour has been shown to have a specific positive effect on the brain. With certain colors accessing certain parts of the brain and releasing certain chemicals. Bright colors such as pink and yellow signal joy and life, while colors such as red may signal danger or blood. Darker colors such as black or navy blue are symbols of more ambient and gloomier scenes.

This is where painting as a therapy form really shines through. It allows the individual a pressure less environment to heal from the trauma they have endured while giving them the tools to also process what has happened to them. Most therapists fear that individuals who have had traumatic events happen to them struggle to process the occurrence.

When patients with Alzheimer react to these colors it helps them feel connected to whatever memory that color holds and their minds become more conscious of their own emotional and psychological wellbeing.

Associating colors with specific feelings, memories and thoughts are only the first steps. The second step of this form of art therapy is having the patient paint an image. This could be an image from their own past or a completely unrelated image. Painting these images helps the patient assign colors to specific parts of the image which can be quite revealing of a patient s state of mind.

Our emotions are bound to come out, no matter how hard we try to bottle them up and store them away. Using art is truly an inspiring way to let those feelings and emotions out in a way that can help others too.




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