Coping with Alzheimer’s disease is difficult and emotional, and we think it is extremely important to address this aspect as well. Some residents find it difficult to partake in the activities and require personal attention. These residents are currently referred to art therapy.
Music therapy is effective in working with Alzheimer’s patients even in the advanced stages of the disease since musical capabilities remain intact despite a decline in cognitive abilities. Music provides meaning even when other experiences become incomprehensible.
The main tools used in music therapy are singing, which is used as a means of communication, to evoke memories and soothe agitation; playing percussion instruments, used as a means of expression and rehabilitative-physical component; recorded music, and more.
The center has a music therapy room that was built with the generous donation of Mrs. Donna Cohen, a relative of one of the center’s residents.
The room, used for individual and group therapy, meets first-class professional standards and is equipped with the best instruments required for music therapy (piano, percussion instruments suitable for people with dementia, sound system, and recording options).
In addition, the room was built in a way that allows the therapy sessions to be observed for learning purposes (using a one-way window). The music therapy room is also used to train music therapy students and for further research in the field.
The music layout at the center is also responsible for numerous and diverse musical activities. The residents and their families enjoy concerts and musicians that regularly come to play during the week.
Suitable music is also played in the wards and during daily activities, such as at mealtimes.
Unique happenings that are suited to the residents’ musical-cultural world are also held at the center. Music brings sounds of the past, and it allows residents to recall and relive the old days.
For example, we hosted a swing ensemble at a nostalgia party, which evoked the aroma of the cafes of Little Tel Aviv, and set up an old-fashioned fair with studio pictures and music box sounds, all for the enjoyment and participation of the residents and their families.
Art therapy is emotional therapy that uses art materials as a means of expression. By working with art materials and through creative processes, patients can express emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
Work done in Israel and worldwide suggests that art therapy helps Alzheimer’s patients because it lets a person who has difficulty verbally expressing himself, to bypass the language barrier and express themselves in a different way.
Drawing, painting or sculpting are popular hobbies and good ways to relax. Art is not just an activity, but rather a creative process that provides a means of self-expression.
The creative work within the therapeutic framework enables Alzheimer’s patients to express themselves and gives them a sense of self-worth and confidence, despite the cognitive decline.
Drama Therapy with Alzheimer’s patients is based on the beneficial effect of spontaneous improvisation and its contribution to creating additional and effective channels of communication with the patients.
Using different drama exercises, the patients experiment with different modes of expression that aren’t necessarily verbal, and experience a sense of capability and success.
The activity involves sensory stimulation, use of humor, movement, and music, while adapting to the participants’ changing needs.
Drama Therapy improves the patients’ mood, and enhances joy. It’s applied in exercises designed to strengthen the patients’ cognitive capabilities, and in recent years has been combined with evoking memories for the purpose of generating a sense of self worth and meaning from their lives.
Contemporary Drama Therapy projects focus on producing performances that are based on the patients’ life stories, and the actual patients are actively involved according to their level of functioni
The Center offers the services of a psychotherapist for residents’ family members and for the staff at the center.
The psychotherapist is trained in the existentialist approach and combines elements from various approaches (guided imagery, emotional regulation techniques, and more).
It is possible to make a single consultation appointment or to schedule a series of sessions.
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