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.

This is quite often found in children who have seen a traumatic action or have been through a traumatic action. In fact, in kids it can go a step further, with some kids completely shutting down after such trauma. In some cases, children may stop talking all together.

When the desire to share one s emotions through art bubbles up it results in those efforts needing to get out and be shared. This means that more and more artists are compelled to share their feelings and emotions through expression. This can result in one or two things those efforts being cheered on or dissed. However, the reward of using art techniques as emotional therapy is that more people than less are going to relate to those same emotions and as such the cycle of inspiration and emotional therapy just continues.

Now, back to the use of water painting as an expression of emotion. The ancient art of painting dates back centuries ago, with the Mayans and their ancient paintings and the Egyptians and their hieroglyphics paintings as an expression have been going on forever. The uses of color paint are specifically therapeutic in that is uses color as a method of expression.

The basis for the disagreement stems from the fact that when trauma occurs people react to it in differing ways. While some people tend to want to spill their guts and share all the for details some people prefer to bottle it in. Which within itself is not a healthy alternative. The presentation of art therapy means that those individuals who feel less inclined to discuss their traumas have a fun, less invasive outlet of getting their feeling out.

Art is a form of freedom, and one thing that Alzheimer s patients are in need of is a little freedom from the burden of their condition. Art allows for that escape and gives them something to use to hold on to some of their memories or to access these memories again.




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