Feelings of Loss Expressed through Art

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a Baylor College of Medicine researcher could fill volumes about the emotional challenges encountered by Alzheimer’s disease patients and their families.

Patients draw their experiences with Alzheimer’s, sometimes with dramatic results, as part of a unique support group for those suffering with the early stages of the disease, said Robert E. Reichlin, Ph.D., clinical instructor in Baylor’s department of medicine-geriatrics.

Reichlin said that to his knowledge he is the only clinician in the United States doing this type of exercise with Alzheimer’s patients.

"I have used the drawings, with fairly good success, in educating physicians, nurses, and other health care providers about the experience of the Alzheimer’s patient," he said. "Many medical personnel, due to their lack of experience or limited time spent with the patient, do not inquire about what the Alzheimer’s patient is experiencing."

The drawings often focus on loss of abilities or the deterioration of memory, but can also touch on feelings of hopelessness or the loss of a sense of "self."

Support group sessions of the Early Stage Peer Group, hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association, have separate meetings for the patients’ caregivers. Spouses and family members also artistically depict their feelings about caring for an Alzheimer’s patient.

"Being a caregiver of an Alzheimer’s patient is the most difficult form of caregiving there is," Reichlin said. "Those individuals are more at risk for developing stress-related illnesses, anxiety disorders, or depression than any other care group."

Reichlin said this is because the caregivers must continually relearn how to communicate with their loved ones due to the disease’s progressive attack on verbal communication and functional abilities. Each day there is the grief of losing some aspect of their loved one. Many of the family members draw images of a long journey with winding roads or a violent roller coaster ride.

Reichlin points out that despite the difficult issues tackled during the sessions, the meetings stay upbeat.

"There’s a lot of laughter in our groups," he said. "It’s not somber. We talk about difficult things, but we maintain a therapeutic environment where everyone feels emotionally safe enough to face their illness. Maintaining self-esteem, losing the sense of stigma, and compensating for loss in a socially accepting environment is the therapeutic task."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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