Art Interventions for Dementia Patients

This qualitative study uses experiential and constructivist frameworks to examine the meanings a dementia patient assigns to the experience of art therapy, as interpreted by the researcher. The study concentrates on the research question: "what is the experience of dementia patients and the art therapist during an art intervention?" Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of a video journal, an interview, and field notes revealed that art interventions, of the type and duration conducted in this study, have the ability to preserve a patient's cognitive and functional abilities if the risk of sensory overload is managed effectively. Implications include future qualitative investigations into the efficacy of patient centered dementia care, which can then form the basis of future quantitative studies investigating the efficacy of this approach. Recommendations involve combining goal-and process-oriented teaching styles with patient-centered art therapy processes that are tailored to the symptomology of individual dementia patients.