Creative Caring for People with Alzheimer’s

Published

Oct 11, 2016

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Caring for a person with Alzheimer's presents many challenges, but creativity can be a tool to help enhance relationships between patients and caregivers. The Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity at the Tulsa Community College Metro Campus is partnering with the Philbrook Museum and the Alzheimer's Association to present a multidisciplinary project that will explore creativity and Alzheimer’s from different perspectives.

These workshops, designed to help Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, are free and open to the public. Caregivers and representatives from the Philbrook and the Alzheimer's Association will discuss how art programs give patients and caregivers meaningful shared experiences. The panel discussion, "How Art Helps," will be 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 14.

Additionally, caregivers can learn to use improv skills to respond to patients’ hallucinations or confusion. TCC improv instructor Bethanie Frank will lead a workshop that explains why it’s better to “just go with it,” and how to respond creatively to patients, 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 21.

These workshops will be held in conjunction with the art exhibit "Illustrating Alzheimer's: Moments Shared Through Creativity." Work created by Tulsa-area residents living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers, as well as by professional artists, will be on display Oct. 4 - 29.

The exhibition includes a sound piece by artist Mark Wittig featuring the voices of people with Alzheimer's. The sound recordings were captured during interviews by TCC service learning students, led by Assistant Professor Stephanie Youngblood.

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