Full Description
Creativity stimulates older adults both mentally and emotionally and has numerous cognitive and social benefits. Providing culturally-sensitive strategies for improving memory through creativity, this timely book outlines innovative techniques and gives essential insight into effective clinical work in a world with an increasing number of diverse older adults and incidences of Alzheimer's disease. Amanda Alders Pike clearly explains how to structure sessions and use artistic creativity to improve memory, mood and socialization. She covers everything from how to introduce art materials and techniques, to how to enhance cross-cultural interaction. Graphs, charts, and tables illustrate how artistic creativity can parallel cognitive training to provide optimal benefits to a wide audience of older adults, and accompanying online material is provided for use in sessions and workshops.
Contents
1. Late-Life Creative Self-Expression and Memory. 1.1. How-to-Apply Information Presented within this Text. 1.2. Normal and Abnormal Aging. 1.3. Alzheimer's disease. 1.4. Risk Factors of Memory Loss. 1.5. Mental Stimulation. 1.6. Stress. 1.7. Emotional Stress and Social Isolation. 1.8. Self-Expression in Late-Life. 1.9. Encouraging Mental Stimulation through Expressive Art-Making. 1.10. Incorporating Creativity into Older Adult Identity through Art-Making. 1.11. Creative Behavior. 1.12. Creative Thought. 1.13. Creative Self-Expression. 1.14. Summary. 2. Happiness, Social Creativity, and the Brain. 2.1. Happiness and Creative Self-Expression. 2.2. Elevating Mood during Creative Sessions. 2.3. Bodily/Sensory Pleasures. 2.4. Higher Order Pleasures. 2.5. Gratifications. 2.6. Happiness, Creativity and the Brain. 2.7. Neurotransmitters and Creativity. 2.8. Making Art that Expresses and Enhances Mood. 2.9. Visual Elements, Cognition and Mood. 2.10. Combining Visual Elements for Enhanced Mood. 2.11. Social Equality vs. Stratifications during Creativity and Happiness. 2.12. Summary. 3. Culture, Communication and Art. 3.1. Promoting Socialization during Memory Training. 3.2. Culture. 3.3. Providing Cultural Neutrality. 3.4. Communication. 3.5. Art in Communication. 3.6. Visual Literacy. 3.7. Social Sharing of Meaning through Art. 3.8. Social Roles. 3.9. Increased Socialization through Art. 3.10. Summary. 4. Cognitive Training through Creative Self-Expression. 4.1. Addressing Cognitive Abilities. 4.2 Emotion-Focused Interventions. 4.3. Targeting Cognitive Performance through Creativity. 4.4. Nature of Cognitive Impairment. 4.5. Type of Memory Impacted. 4.6. Short-term Working Memory vs Long-term Memory. 4.7. Cognitive Training. 4.8. Restorative Strategies. 4.9. Compensatory Strategies. 4.10. Expressivity-based Memory Techniques. 4.11. Neurobiology of Creativity and Expressivity. 4.12. Theory: Going Beyond "Recipes". 4.13. Understanding Cerebral Activity in Art-Making. 4.14. Examples of artwork and corresponding ETC. 4.15. Educational vs Therapeutic Frameworks. 4.16. Summary. 5. Understanding Art to Understand the Mind. 5.1. Elements of Successful Sessions. 5.2. Additional Planning for Effective Sessions. 5.3. Rhythmic Structure and Versatility in Directives. 5.3. Outline of Ten-Weeks of Sessions. 5.4. A Single Directive for All Ten-Weeks. 5.5 Concluding the Ten Weeks. 5.6. Summary. 6. Going beyond the Book: Community Collaborations. 6.1. Scope-of-Practice. 6.2. Cultural Trends in Seeking Care. 6.3. Caregivers. 6.4. Inter-Generational Projects. 6.5. Services/Systems of Care across Settings. 6.6. Getting Started. 6.7. Identifying Symptoms Cross-Culturally. 6.8. Organizations. 6.9. Ways to Continue Learning. 6.10. Summary. 6.11. Learning Evaluation Quiz. References.
