The Benefits of Art Therapy

[ABSTRACT]

I have been reading about the benefits of art therapy for the better part of year. Skeptically. Why would adults enjoy coloring inside the lines? And how could this activity translate into a stress reducing exercise?

My skepticism dissolved this past week when an art therapist introduced me and others attending our Memory Café to “Zen Doodles.” The concept is straightforward: take a piece of paper, and use colored markers to fill it with the doodles you typically to make in notebook margins. Add some soothing background music, and you are on your way to a stress free, colorful time.

This is an activity that is very appropriate for those with cognitive impairment because there are no wrong moves. It is an exercise in color and shape and music. You select the shapes you want to draw and the colors. Color can compensate for talent in this exercise. And the act of matching or contrasting color and shape is surprisingly relaxing.

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