Article Type : Short commentary
Authors : Kimoto M, Bando H, Urasaki H, Hayashi Y, Bando M, Yoshioka A, Nishikiori Y
Keywords : Music therapy; Hospital arts; Self-discovery; Masking tape; New Elderly Association (NEA)
Art therapy is effective for the elderly people. Authors have contributed various activities of New Elderly Association (NEA) including music therapy and hospital arts. Several benefits for art therapy include decreased stress/ depression, elevated self-discovery/ self-esteem, and improved holistic personality/ communication skills. During such valid activities, representative human feeling and expression include emotional control, self-perception for art, comprehension and insight, integrative sensation and behavioral changes. Art therapy using colorful masking tape as hospital art has been in focus. It can also be used in rehabilitation by cutting with scissors or tearing with fingers. It contributes satisfactory human art lives
For
decades, authors and collaborators have continued various research and practice
of art therapies [1]. They include music therapy, integrative medicine (IM),
physical and psychosomatic medicine, hospital arts, and so on [2]. Concerning
these activities, there have been creative measures of self-expression and also
mutual communication [3]. Furthermore, important philosophy exists in a variety
of art works as the combination of science and art. A supreme Japanese
physician, Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, has taught and developed humanity and
medicine until 105 years. He was the director of International Saint Luke
Hospital, Tokyo, and established New Elderly Association (NEA) [4]. Through NEA
activities, he has enlightened people proper and adequate way of how to live
well and long with coordination and cooperation together. Art therapy can
usually improve the status of mood, concentration and communication that
elevates our self-confidence and self-awareness [5]. During the session of art
therapy, we can express our natural feelings by some creative working rather
than conversation or speech. Such activities are believed to be useful and
helpful for those having less emotional responses. Furthermore, the presence of
art may bring better mental health by expanding human thinking process and
providing a sense of identity for each individual. When a person has difficulty
of remembering and talking hard experiences, he can recognize art therapy as
beneficial and relaxing.
For
decades, various studies for art therapy have been found. Among them, several
fundamental benefits can be recognized. They are as follows: i) Decreased
stress degree: Art therapy can convert from negative energy status to daily
habits, with changing for the creative direction. From basic medicine point of
view, creating art may stimulate the release of dopamine [6]. It can be
released when human feels happy or pleasurable. Elevated dopamine levels as
famous neurotransmitter can contribute much for those with struggling stress.
ii) Reduction of depression: Art therapy practice brings positivity and hope
into the daily life, and it has been proven to help fight chemical imbalances
in the brain that can lead to depression [7]. Depression is a complex syndrome
with symptoms such as low mood, low self-esteem, and art therapy may serve as
an important treatment for depression. iii) Self-discovery: By engaging the
creative process of art therapy, human comes to feel the recognition of
presence in the subconscious level of our mind [8]. It brings each person contacting
with the primary process, which leads to the self-discovery, and raises
holistic personality [9]. For example, it may change through some kinds of
process, by making a significant art object, processing of certain materials,
communication with the colleague therapist, and subliminal feelings for the
images. iv) Better communication skills:?Some
people have difficulty dealing with personal and social problems [10]. They may
turn to substance abuse to escape from harsh realities. In such cases, art therapy
can promote self-expression and contribute to cultivating the ability to
connect with others by improving communication skills. v) Elevated self-esteem:
Art originally allows people discover unique aspects of various matter [11]. It
gives some opportunities for sound self-involvement that ultimately elevate
human self-esteem. Making some art works itself can boost the sense of
accomplishment and elevate the degree of self-confidence. For art therapy, the
basic artistic component has been emphasized for long. As its reason,
isomorphic relationship has been present among own specific features,
self-esteem and component of the work.
During
the activities of art therapy, people can obtain several concepts and
expressions. These experiences contribute much for human mind and heart as
stabilizing, relaxing and reactivating with ideal degree. Representative human
feeling and expression have the following some aspects. A) Emotional control
and regulation: Art therapy makes each person to modulate his emotional natural
responses. It can offer some experiential time and space where we experiment
certain research by elevating self-efficacy and self-confidence. For example,
when a person can enjoy working with mathematics or numbers, he feels higher
financial tasks associated his self-efficacy achievement. B) Self-perception
for art: Our human expression responding to art work helps people concentrating
on the present moment, identifying their moving emotion, and recognizing body
awareness [12]. Through these processes, human perceptions may become the first
degree of validating emotional responses and evoking the trigger point for
certain therapeutic explorations. C) Comprehension and insight: Human art
expression from art therapy can bring people to set their various emotional
responses and non-verbal natural experiences into certain related images. When
they have such process of artistic experiences, they can feel inner dialogues
with artistic stimuli. They include non-verbal and verbal aspects during
working for art products. Such expression will give each person of novel
thoughts and recognition with more apparent image in the mind. D) Integrative
sensation: When a person usually experiences certain expressions, it helps to
strengthen their identity and self-image and develops a more optimistic
outlook. Through proper artistic expression, a person can get a clearer
perspective of their emotions. Furthermore, during the course of some
therapeutic experiences, one becomes aware of their own feelings and thoughts, associated
with finding direction or avenue for further research. These real experiences
also help to reduce the stress levels that an individual may have [13]. E)
Behavioral changes: When people experience some art therapy, they often have
some behavioral changes towards themselves and also other people around them.
From some reports, a person tends to changes his usual daily response through
certain process of art experience with expression. Further, art therapy can
give some opportunities to conduct alternative mental and physical changes
against some impressive personal narrative stories. Art therapy is
characterized for its liberating situation because of no particular rules to
limit our creativity. People can express what they feel, and make an image as they
want. There are no specific inclination or skill and they can choose several
types of techniques in the following. For psychological measures, active
imagination was devised by Carl Jung using the freely associated feelings or
thoughts that arouse from their minds [14]. The purpose would be to help the
person obtain deep understanding themselves and their surroundings, which will
foster psychosomatic growth. Another way is the Gestalt methodology [15]. It
would focus on the image in the light of configuration and form [16]. It also
focuses on the general view of the image rather than local parts. It will help
for apparent wider picture and associated themes.
Traditional art painting provides free sensation in each person. Art therapist gives certain prompt according to each drawing [17]. There are similar effective techniques such as collaging and doodling scribbling [18]. Furthermore, sculpting has been also well-known method from artistic point of view. A sculpture would use molding clay, carving precisely, and engaging for ceramic art works. Recently, certain art therapy has been in focus [19]. The author’s et al. have been involved in its development. It is art works using various colorful masking tape, which is one of the hospital arts. It can also be used in rehabilitation by cutting with scissors or tearing with fingers [20]. Some artworks are shown with novel conception [21] (Figures 1-4). This artist has been satisfactory with usually thinking novel ideas for masking tape. It will contribute giving people well-beings with art lives [22].
In
summary, several different techniques have been beneficial for psychological
management. They are involved in clarifying sub consciousness by repression,
giving cathartic release, and also promoting verbal communication [23]. From
mentioned above, several types of art therapy will be expected for leading to
human wellness, well-being and happiness in the future.
Conflict of interest
The
authors declare no conflict of interest.
Funding
There
was no funding received for this paper.
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