Art Therapy and Neuroscience
February 8-9, 2024
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Day 1, February 8, 2025
Affective Aesthetics
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Lauri Nummenmaa, PhD
I did my undergraduate studies majoring in psychology at University of Turku, Finland. I defended my PhD on neurocognitive mechanisms of social attention at University of Turku in 2006. After that, I worked as a post-doc at the MRC CBU in Cambridge, UK studying neural mechanisms of face perception. I returned to Finland in 2008, to work as Academy of Finland junior fellow and subsequently as senior fellow at Turku Pet Center and Aalto University. After a four-year appointment as Assistant professor in cognitive neuroscience at Aalto University, I returned to the University of Turku with my laboratory.
Currently I lead the Human Emotion Systems laboratory at Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku. Our group studies functional and molecular neural mechanisms of
human emotions and social interaction in complex, life-like settings with magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, magneto- and electroencephalography and behavioural techniques. I have written over 150 scientific articles on brain basis of emotions and social cognition and acquired
more than 8.5 M€ grant money for our group. We have been funded e.g., by the European Research Council, Academy of Finland, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, The Sigrid Juselius Stiftelse, Gyllenberg Stiftelse and the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.
Currently I lead the Human Emotion Systems laboratory at Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku. Our group studies functional and molecular neural mechanisms of
human emotions and social interaction in complex, life-like settings with magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, magneto- and electroencephalography and behavioural techniques. I have written over 150 scientific articles on brain basis of emotions and social cognition and acquired
more than 8.5 M€ grant money for our group. We have been funded e.g., by the European Research Council, Academy of Finland, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, The Sigrid Juselius Stiftelse, Gyllenberg Stiftelse and the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.
Resetting the Nervous System through Expressive Arts Therapy and Sensory Processing
This presentation emphasizes the role of lived experiences and how implicit communication via expressive arts facilitates restorative narratives. Most trauma specialists agree that lived experiences—first-person stories from trauma survivors—are key to understanding their reactions and recovery, yet few studies use narrative methods and arts-based research designs to evaluate what individuals are telling us through both implicit [non-verbal] and explicit [verbal] communications. This presentation brings together initial data from a five-year grant on expressive arts therapy with the US Department of Education and expressive and sensory-based approaches in programming within the Department of Defense to highlight the importance of lived experiences in recovery and restoration.
Learning objectives
Participants will:
1) Be able to define expressive arts therapy as a sensory-based, implicit form of communication;
2) Be able to define how coregulation via expressive approaches contributes to restoration and health;
3) Be able to define the “shift phenomenon” as key to access of multiple senses;
4) Be able to define the terms embodied cognition, synchrony, and attunement;
5) Be able to define where image making fits into a continuum of restorative strategies to address distress and trauma reactions;
Learning objectives
Participants will:
1) Be able to define expressive arts therapy as a sensory-based, implicit form of communication;
2) Be able to define how coregulation via expressive approaches contributes to restoration and health;
3) Be able to define the “shift phenomenon” as key to access of multiple senses;
4) Be able to define the terms embodied cognition, synchrony, and attunement;
5) Be able to define where image making fits into a continuum of restorative strategies to address distress and trauma reactions;
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Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT
The Neuroscience of Creativity and Consciousness
This presentation explores the interplay between creativity, altered states of consciousness, and flow, presenting a nuanced framework for understanding creative processes. He categorizes creativity into three types: deliberate creativity, which involves conscious problem-solving and executive control; spontaneous creativity, which arises from unconscious processes and reduced cognitive oversight; and flow-based creativity, which emerges during optimal experiences characterized by deep engagement and effortless performance.
Dietrich connects these creative types to distinct neural mechanisms and states of consciousness. Deliberate creativity engages the prefrontal cortex for goal-directed thinking, while spontaneous creativity relies on default mode network activity and transient hypofrontality. Flow states represent a unique intersection, where reduced prefrontal activity coexists with heightened focus and intrinsic motivation, facilitating seamless creativity.
Altered states of consciousness, such as meditation, psychedelics, or extreme focus, play a significant role in fostering creativity by modulating cognitive control and accessing unconscious thought patterns. This framework underscores the dynamic relationship between neural networks, states of consciousness, and creative output, offering valuable insights for fields ranging from psychology and neuroscience to education and the arts.
Learning objectives:
After this presentation the participants will:
1. Differentiate between the three types of creativity—deliberate, spontaneous, and flow-based—and their associated neural mechanisms.
2. Explain the role of altered states of consciousness, such as transient hypofrontality and default mode network activity, in facilitating creative processes.
3. Analyze the relationship between flow states and creativity, emphasizing how reduced cognitive control and heightened intrinsic motivation enhance creative output.
Dietrich connects these creative types to distinct neural mechanisms and states of consciousness. Deliberate creativity engages the prefrontal cortex for goal-directed thinking, while spontaneous creativity relies on default mode network activity and transient hypofrontality. Flow states represent a unique intersection, where reduced prefrontal activity coexists with heightened focus and intrinsic motivation, facilitating seamless creativity.
Altered states of consciousness, such as meditation, psychedelics, or extreme focus, play a significant role in fostering creativity by modulating cognitive control and accessing unconscious thought patterns. This framework underscores the dynamic relationship between neural networks, states of consciousness, and creative output, offering valuable insights for fields ranging from psychology and neuroscience to education and the arts.
Learning objectives:
After this presentation the participants will:
1. Differentiate between the three types of creativity—deliberate, spontaneous, and flow-based—and their associated neural mechanisms.
2. Explain the role of altered states of consciousness, such as transient hypofrontality and default mode network activity, in facilitating creative processes.
3. Analyze the relationship between flow states and creativity, emphasizing how reduced cognitive control and heightened intrinsic motivation enhance creative output.
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Arne Dietrich, PhD
Sensorimotor Art Therapy Interventions for
Traumatized Clients
Art therapy engages client’s hands in a multitude of ways through the sensory connection with various materials and textures, and through skilled motor impulses. This seminar focuses on the powerful neurological connection between the hands and the brain. Haptic sensory and motor perceptions inform up to 80% of the human cortex. The human hands are instrumental in shaping the prefrontal cortex. Our ability to form language and process cognitive insights depends on an infant’s haptic achievements. Sensory cortical development begins in utero. The motor cortex has its initial core development in the first 4 years of life when we learn how to crawl, walk and organize our body to do things. Both form the sensorimotor foundation which shapes our embodied identity. This felt sense of self remains widely unquestioned throughout our life, because we have always felt like this.
Knowledge of how to engage the sensorimotor foundation in a therapeutic way allows therapists to address complex trauma, attachment styles, sexual and other overwhelming experiences through haptic explorations in mostly non-verbal ways that reach the brain stem and midbrain, where trauma is being held without necessarily having to address the narrative.
Works Cited
Ayres, J. (2015 6th edition). Sensory Integration and the Child. USA: Western Psychological Services.
Elbrecht, C. (2013). Trauma healing at the clay field, a sensorimotor art therapy approach. London/Philadelphia: jessica Kingsley.
Elbrecht, C. (2018). Healing trauma with guided drawing; a sensorimotor art therapy approach to bilateral body mapping. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Elbrecht, C. (2021). Healing Trauma in Children with Clay Field Therapy; How Sensorimotor Art Therapy Supports the Embodiment of Developmental Milestones. Berkley, California: North Atlantic Books.
Gendlin, E. T. (1981). Focusing. Toronto: Bantam Books.
Levine, P. (2015). Trauma and memory; brain and body in search of the living past. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Linden, D. J. (2015). Touch, the science of hand, heart and mind. Great Britain: Viking .
Lloyd, S. (2020). Building Sensorimotor Systems in Children with Developmental Trauma; a Model for Practice. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingley.
Penfield, W., & Rasmussen, T. (1950 renewed 1978). The cerebral cortex of man. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Penfield, W., & Rasmussen, T. (1950). The cerebral cortex of man: a clinical study of localization of function. Journal of American Medical Association, 248 ff.
Perry, B. (2005). Applying principles of Neurodevelopment to clinical work with maltreated and traumatized children: The neurosequential model of therapeutics. In Webb, Working with traumatized youth in child welfare (pp. 27 - 53). New York: Guilford Press.
Perry, B. (2009). Examining Child Maltreatment Through a Neurodevelopmental Lens: Clinical Applications ot the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics . Journal of Loss and Trauma, 240 - 255.
Perry, B. (n.d.). The Three R's: Reaching the Learning Brain. Retrieved from Beacon House: www.beaconhouse.org
Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. New York: W.W. Norton.
Rothschild, B. (2000). The body remembers. New York: Norton and Company.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score. New York: Viking, Penguin Group.
Wilson, F. (1998). The hand; how its use shapes the brain, languag and human culture. New York: Vintage Books.
Learning objectives:
At the end of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how haptic sensory and motor perceptions shape cortical development and embodied identity.
2. Assess the therapeutic use of sensorimotor engagement to address trauma and attachment challenges.
3. Explore non-verbal haptic interventions for accessing brain regions where trauma is held.
Knowledge of how to engage the sensorimotor foundation in a therapeutic way allows therapists to address complex trauma, attachment styles, sexual and other overwhelming experiences through haptic explorations in mostly non-verbal ways that reach the brain stem and midbrain, where trauma is being held without necessarily having to address the narrative.
Works Cited
Ayres, J. (2015 6th edition). Sensory Integration and the Child. USA: Western Psychological Services.
Elbrecht, C. (2013). Trauma healing at the clay field, a sensorimotor art therapy approach. London/Philadelphia: jessica Kingsley.
Elbrecht, C. (2018). Healing trauma with guided drawing; a sensorimotor art therapy approach to bilateral body mapping. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Elbrecht, C. (2021). Healing Trauma in Children with Clay Field Therapy; How Sensorimotor Art Therapy Supports the Embodiment of Developmental Milestones. Berkley, California: North Atlantic Books.
Gendlin, E. T. (1981). Focusing. Toronto: Bantam Books.
Levine, P. (2015). Trauma and memory; brain and body in search of the living past. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Linden, D. J. (2015). Touch, the science of hand, heart and mind. Great Britain: Viking .
Lloyd, S. (2020). Building Sensorimotor Systems in Children with Developmental Trauma; a Model for Practice. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingley.
Penfield, W., & Rasmussen, T. (1950 renewed 1978). The cerebral cortex of man. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Penfield, W., & Rasmussen, T. (1950). The cerebral cortex of man: a clinical study of localization of function. Journal of American Medical Association, 248 ff.
Perry, B. (2005). Applying principles of Neurodevelopment to clinical work with maltreated and traumatized children: The neurosequential model of therapeutics. In Webb, Working with traumatized youth in child welfare (pp. 27 - 53). New York: Guilford Press.
Perry, B. (2009). Examining Child Maltreatment Through a Neurodevelopmental Lens: Clinical Applications ot the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics . Journal of Loss and Trauma, 240 - 255.
Perry, B. (n.d.). The Three R's: Reaching the Learning Brain. Retrieved from Beacon House: www.beaconhouse.org
Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. New York: W.W. Norton.
Rothschild, B. (2000). The body remembers. New York: Norton and Company.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score. New York: Viking, Penguin Group.
Wilson, F. (1998). The hand; how its use shapes the brain, languag and human culture. New York: Vintage Books.
Learning objectives:
At the end of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how haptic sensory and motor perceptions shape cortical development and embodied identity.
2. Assess the therapeutic use of sensorimotor engagement to address trauma and attachment challenges.
3. Explore non-verbal haptic interventions for accessing brain regions where trauma is held.
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Cornelia Elbrecht, AThR, SATh, SEP, ANZACATA, IEATA, IACAET
Instinctual Trauma Response and the Neuroscience of Trauma
The Instinctual Trauma Response (ITR), developed by Dr. Linda Gantt, offers a structured approach to understanding and addressing the impact of trauma on the brain and body. Grounded in neuroscience, ITR explores how traumatic experiences disrupt the brain's natural processing mechanisms, leading to fragmented memory, hyperarousal, and dysregulated emotional states. The model emphasizes the role of implicit memory and sensorimotor responses, which are deeply rooted in the brain's survival mechanisms, particularly within the brainstem and limbic system.
ITR incorporates creative, non-verbal methods, such as art-based interventions, to facilitate the reorganization of fragmented trauma memories and promote neural integration. By engaging visual, sensory, and narrative elements, ITR helps to reprocess traumatic experiences in a safe and controlled manner, fostering a sense of coherence and emotional regulation.
This approach aligns with current findings in neuroscience, particularly the understanding of the brain's plasticity and its capacity for healing through targeted therapeutic interventions. The model highlights the importance of non-verbal processing in accessing and restructuring trauma held in subcortical brain regions. This abstract explores the foundational principles of ITR, its neurobiological underpinnings, and its therapeutic potential in trauma recovery.
Learning objectives:
After the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Identify the core principles of the Instinctual Trauma Response (ITR) model and its application in addressing trauma-related disruptions in memory and emotional regulation.
2. Describe the neurobiological underpinnings of ITR, including the roles of the brainstem, limbic system, and brain plasticity in trauma processing and recovery.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how art-based and non-verbal interventions within the ITR framework facilitate neural integration and emotional healing in trauma therapy.
ITR incorporates creative, non-verbal methods, such as art-based interventions, to facilitate the reorganization of fragmented trauma memories and promote neural integration. By engaging visual, sensory, and narrative elements, ITR helps to reprocess traumatic experiences in a safe and controlled manner, fostering a sense of coherence and emotional regulation.
This approach aligns with current findings in neuroscience, particularly the understanding of the brain's plasticity and its capacity for healing through targeted therapeutic interventions. The model highlights the importance of non-verbal processing in accessing and restructuring trauma held in subcortical brain regions. This abstract explores the foundational principles of ITR, its neurobiological underpinnings, and its therapeutic potential in trauma recovery.
Learning objectives:
After the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Identify the core principles of the Instinctual Trauma Response (ITR) model and its application in addressing trauma-related disruptions in memory and emotional regulation.
2. Describe the neurobiological underpinnings of ITR, including the roles of the brainstem, limbic system, and brain plasticity in trauma processing and recovery.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how art-based and non-verbal interventions within the ITR framework facilitate neural integration and emotional healing in trauma therapy.
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Linda Gantt, PhD, ATR-BC
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Juliet King PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC
Resilience Journal - An Expressive Journal as a Tool for Therapy
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Leetal Caidar Benzvi, Ph.D.
Day 2, February 9, 2025
Creativity and the Brain
Anna Abraham’s vision of creativity weaves together insights from neuroscience, psychology, and the arts, providing a nuanced understanding of the brain's role in creative processes. Her exploration of associative networks reveals that highly creative individuals possess expansive semantic and conceptual structures, characterized by a "flat associative hierarchy" and a broader attentional spotlight, fostering originality and flexibility. Creativity thrives at the intersection of expertise and openness, where knowledge serves as both a foundation and a boundary to innovation.
Abraham highlights neuroplasticity in art, showing how activities like drawing engage the primary visual cortex, even in blind individuals, underscoring the brain's adaptability. The dopaminergic system, with its ties to reward and motivation, emerges as a key driver of creative thought. Divergent thinking—marked by originality, fluency, and flexibility—is shown to be a hallmark of creative problem-solving, particularly in individuals with unique neurological profiles.
Her work also investigates the complex relationship between creativity and mental illness, offering scientific perspectives on the enduring myth of the "mad genius." Creativity is framed as multifaceted, spanning everyday problem-solving to rare genius, and extending across domains like visual arts, music, movement, and literary expression, where metaphors play a vital cognitive role.
Learning objectives:
After the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how associative networks and flat hierarchical structures enhance creative thinking and problem-solving.
2. Explore the role of neuroplasticity in creative activities like drawing, music, and movement.
3. Evaluate the impact of neurological diversity, dopamine, and divergent thinking on creative expression.
Abraham highlights neuroplasticity in art, showing how activities like drawing engage the primary visual cortex, even in blind individuals, underscoring the brain's adaptability. The dopaminergic system, with its ties to reward and motivation, emerges as a key driver of creative thought. Divergent thinking—marked by originality, fluency, and flexibility—is shown to be a hallmark of creative problem-solving, particularly in individuals with unique neurological profiles.
Her work also investigates the complex relationship between creativity and mental illness, offering scientific perspectives on the enduring myth of the "mad genius." Creativity is framed as multifaceted, spanning everyday problem-solving to rare genius, and extending across domains like visual arts, music, movement, and literary expression, where metaphors play a vital cognitive role.
Learning objectives:
After the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how associative networks and flat hierarchical structures enhance creative thinking and problem-solving.
2. Explore the role of neuroplasticity in creative activities like drawing, music, and movement.
3. Evaluate the impact of neurological diversity, dopamine, and divergent thinking on creative expression.
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Anna Abraham, PhD
Art Therapy Is a Brain Based Profession
This presentation explores the integration of neuroscience into art therapy education, practice, and research, tracing the evolution of a neuroscience-informed approach. The session will discuss the brain involvement during the creative processes and suggests updating outdated theories and adopting evidence-based practices through an accessible and culturally-informed approach. It will also emphasize emerging trends in funding and research, showcasing the vital role art therapists play in developing cutting-edge interventions across diverse populations.
Learning objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Examine the Evolution of Neuroscience in Art Therapy
2. Identify Key Intersections Between Neuroscience and Art Therapy
3. Explore Strategies for Engaging Stakeholders in Art Therapy Research.
Learning objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Examine the Evolution of Neuroscience in Art Therapy
2. Identify Key Intersections Between Neuroscience and Art Therapy
3. Explore Strategies for Engaging Stakeholders in Art Therapy Research.
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Juliet King PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC
Art Works
The regulatory effects of art therapy from a neuroscientific perspective In a constantly and rapidly changing world, balance between thinking and feeling and adaptability are important aspects of healthy functioning. When health is compromised, the neural networks involved become dysregulated. This leads to imbalance and reduced adaptability, which increases the risk of
developing physical and psychological conditions. The results of her doctoral research (Pénzes, 2020) show how precisely balance and adaptability as aspects of mental health become visible in people's art-making and art products. It is theorized that different art materials, techniques and instructions activate different brain networks (Pénzes, et al., 2023). And that individuals with a thinking imbalance may benefit from affective experiences and individuals with a feeling imbalance may benefit from cognitive experiences. Based on these findings, the Art Therapy Assessment Method (ArTA) was developed (Pénzes, 2024).
This presentation will introduce the ArTA method and show how (im)balance and adaptability become visible in clients' artwork, how the neural processes involved can be influenced through
meaningful experiences in art therapy, often more easily than through language. And how we can explain the regulatory effects of art therapy from a neuroscientific perspective. These findings
provide not only practical tools for methodical and tailored art therapy interventions to restore balance and tap into clients' adaptability, but also a rationale for art therapy as a profession.
References
Pénzes, I. (2024). Art therapy observation and assessment in clinical practice. The ArTA Method. Routledge/ Taylor and Francis.
Pénzes, I., Engelbert, R., Heidendael, D., Oti, K., Jongen.E.M.M. & Van Hooren, S. (2023). The influence of art material and instruction during art making on brain activity: A quantitative
electroencephalogram study. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 83.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2023.102024
Pénzes, I. (2020). Art Form and Mental Health. Studies on Art Therapy Observation and Assessment in Adult Mental Health (Doctoral dissertation, Radboud University Nijmegen].
Behavioral Science Institute. https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/2066/216188/216188.pdf?sequence=1
Learning objectives
After this presentation the participants will be able to:
1. Describe the ArTA method and its neuroscientific underpinning
2. Knows how balance and adaptability as aspects of mental health become visible in clients’
material interaction, material experience and art product.
3. Explain the regulatory effects of art therapy from a neuroscientific perspective
developing physical and psychological conditions. The results of her doctoral research (Pénzes, 2020) show how precisely balance and adaptability as aspects of mental health become visible in people's art-making and art products. It is theorized that different art materials, techniques and instructions activate different brain networks (Pénzes, et al., 2023). And that individuals with a thinking imbalance may benefit from affective experiences and individuals with a feeling imbalance may benefit from cognitive experiences. Based on these findings, the Art Therapy Assessment Method (ArTA) was developed (Pénzes, 2024).
This presentation will introduce the ArTA method and show how (im)balance and adaptability become visible in clients' artwork, how the neural processes involved can be influenced through
meaningful experiences in art therapy, often more easily than through language. And how we can explain the regulatory effects of art therapy from a neuroscientific perspective. These findings
provide not only practical tools for methodical and tailored art therapy interventions to restore balance and tap into clients' adaptability, but also a rationale for art therapy as a profession.
References
Pénzes, I. (2024). Art therapy observation and assessment in clinical practice. The ArTA Method. Routledge/ Taylor and Francis.
Pénzes, I., Engelbert, R., Heidendael, D., Oti, K., Jongen.E.M.M. & Van Hooren, S. (2023). The influence of art material and instruction during art making on brain activity: A quantitative
electroencephalogram study. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 83.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2023.102024
Pénzes, I. (2020). Art Form and Mental Health. Studies on Art Therapy Observation and Assessment in Adult Mental Health (Doctoral dissertation, Radboud University Nijmegen].
Behavioral Science Institute. https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/2066/216188/216188.pdf?sequence=1
Learning objectives
After this presentation the participants will be able to:
1. Describe the ArTA method and its neuroscientific underpinning
2. Knows how balance and adaptability as aspects of mental health become visible in clients’
material interaction, material experience and art product.
3. Explain the regulatory effects of art therapy from a neuroscientific perspective
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Ingrid Pénzes, Ph.D.
Enhancing Recollection and Emotional Well-Being Through Memory Drawing
The potential of memory drawing, a technique developed by Dr. Unnur G. Óttarsdóttir, as a method for enhancing memory retention and supporting emotional well-being will be reviewed in the presentation. The presented research, involving 134 children and 262 adults, demonstrated that drawing significantly enhances memory recall compared to writing, particularly for individuals who struggle with memorizing written words. According to the study results, those who easily remember written words remember their drawings more easily than written words in the long run. Additionally, the study examined memory retention over various time intervals, showing that drawing is generally five times more effective than writing when recalling after nine weeks.
Memory drawing holds particular relevance in therapeutic and educational settings, offering the dual benefit of improving recall while providing a medium for processing emotions. Case studies with children facing specific learning difficulties and emotional stress reveal that drawing not only aids in memorizing coursework but also in processing emotions. This dual capacity of memory drawing—to strengthen memory and facilitate emotional well-being—marks it as an innovative approach in educational and therapeutic settings.
Learning objectives:
At the end of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how memory drawing enhances memory retention and benefits individuals with diverse memory capabilities.
2. Assess the dual potential of memory drawing to improve recall and support emotional processing in therapeutic and educational settings.
3. Explore research findings on memory retention and the comparative effectiveness of drawing versus writing over time.
Memory drawing holds particular relevance in therapeutic and educational settings, offering the dual benefit of improving recall while providing a medium for processing emotions. Case studies with children facing specific learning difficulties and emotional stress reveal that drawing not only aids in memorizing coursework but also in processing emotions. This dual capacity of memory drawing—to strengthen memory and facilitate emotional well-being—marks it as an innovative approach in educational and therapeutic settings.
Learning objectives:
At the end of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how memory drawing enhances memory retention and benefits individuals with diverse memory capabilities.
2. Assess the dual potential of memory drawing to improve recall and support emotional processing in therapeutic and educational settings.
3. Explore research findings on memory retention and the comparative effectiveness of drawing versus writing over time.
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Unnur Óttarsdóttir, PhD, ATR
Exploring the Impact of Dementia Using Art Therapy: A RCT with ETC Framework
This randomized controlled trial explored the impact of Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC)-based art therapy interventions for older adults with dementia living in a complex care home. The trial examined the efficacy of 10 art therapy intervention sessions over 4 months, comparing results with an active control group participating in 10 art sessions. Pre- and post-assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Older People’s Quality of Life (OPQOL-Brief) questionnaires, were conducted. Results demonstrated that participants displayed similar visual expression elements, shared preferences for specific media types, and equivalent ETC-based intervention entry levels. In addition, participants in the experimental group showed significant increases in OPQOL-Brief scores. Finally, MMSE-Language scores demonstrated statistically significant increases in the experimental group and decreases in the control group. The current study aligns with previous research demonstrating that art therapy can improve cognitive functioning and enhance quality of life in older adults living with dementia. It expands on previous research by providing new insights into expressive and stylistic elements, ETC entry-level, and media preferences for engaging in artmaking.
Keywords: Art therapy, dementia, older adults, Expressive Therapies Continuum, cognitive functioning, quality of life
Learning objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Describe how art therapy interventions, grounded in the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) framework, affect memory, language functioning, and quality of life in older adults with dementia.
2. Define three key factors identified through the Expressive Therapies Continuum Assessment (ETCA) of older adults with dementia: formal elements of visual expression, art media usage, and preferred ETC components.
3. Provide critical insights into how art therapy enhances the quality of life for older adults living with dementia based on the study's findings.
Keywords: Art therapy, dementia, older adults, Expressive Therapies Continuum, cognitive functioning, quality of life
Learning objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Describe how art therapy interventions, grounded in the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) framework, affect memory, language functioning, and quality of life in older adults with dementia.
2. Define three key factors identified through the Expressive Therapies Continuum Assessment (ETCA) of older adults with dementia: formal elements of visual expression, art media usage, and preferred ETC components.
3. Provide critical insights into how art therapy enhances the quality of life for older adults living with dementia based on the study's findings.
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Heesu Jeon, Ph.D., ATR-BC, RCC, RCAT
Art Therapy, Anger, and Gender
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Marian Frances Liebmann, MA, PhD, PGCE, CQSW, HCPC, BAAT
Marian Liebmann has worked in art therapy with offenders, with women’s groups and community groups, and for 19 years in the Inner City Team (adult mental health) in Bristol, UK, where she developed work on anger issues. She teaches and lectures on art therapy at several universities in the UK and Ireland. She has run art therapy workshops in several European countries, as well as the US and Africa. She also works in restorative justice, mediation and conflict resolution. She has written or edited 14 books, including Art therapy for Groups, Art Therapy in Practice, Art Therapy with Offenders, Arts Approaches to Conflict, Restorative Justice: How It Works, Art Therapy and Anger and Arts Therapies and Sexual Offending. In 2010 she gained her PhD by publications, and in 2013 she was awarded OBE for services to art therapy and mediation.
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