Exploring Art Therapy For Older Adults

As we age, we often lose the freedom and joy in creating art that we experienced as children. Engaging in active art making as adults, however, can still be therapeutic and beneficial for personal growth, regardless of artistic talent. Art therapy sessions, facilitated by art therapists, focus on self expression and the applied psychological theory behind the creative process. Art therapy sessions provide a safe space for individuals of different age groups to explore their emotions and thoughts through various art forms, enhancing their quality of life and overall well-being. 

Through thought processes, art therapy can help people in many ways, from better communication and problem-solving skills to developing a better understanding of themselves and their relationships with others. It can be used to work through emotions or stress, trauma or abuse, depression, or anxiety. Art therapy also provides an opportunity for self-expression without having to use words.

Art therapy

Art-based therapy can also be ideal for older adults suffering from cognitive and physical impairments that necessitate different treatments and therapies. For decades, art practices have been used in long-term care facilities as a constructive hobby for older residents to enjoy. Creative arts therapies (CAT) can address older adults' psychological needs, enhancing their quality of life. 

Research findings: Online art therapy for older adults

A recent study used photo collage as an art medium to demonstrate the benefits of CAT for older adults. In this study, older adults gathered on joint tele-CAT meetings to participate in research using digital photo stimuli projects. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers hoped online creative arts therapy would provide mental health support and an opportunity for creative expression.

The creation of digital collages allowed the older adult participants to reflect on their lives, process emotions, and experiences, and create an integrative narrative of their lives—something that is vital to maintaining a positive outlook as we get older.

Despite the potential challenges of telehealth for older adults, the study was ultimately a positive experience for the older adults involved. Participants found the art projects emotional, thought-provoking, surprising, and comforting, and researchers indicated that the digital collages allowed the older adult participants to connect and reflect more freely than traditional therapy forms.

Methods

Older adults involved in the study consisted of twenty-four Italian and Israeli adults, aged 78 to 92, who were recruited through social workers at day centers, or through family. Of this sample, 14 participants were women, six were married or had a partner, all had children, and 14 considered themselves religious.

Each research meeting took place on Zoom, where these older adults participated in three 90-minute sessions. In each session, participants created a photo collage, and each art therapy session focused on a singular theme: the first, turning points in one’s narrative, focusing on significant life events; the second, personal legacy; and the third, future perspective, exploring participants’ thoughts and feelings about the future and the ends of their lives.

This qualitative study was based on a phenomenological method of examining older adult participants’ lived experiences. The study's design was based on an artistic approach to examine these lived experiences through the older adults’ relationship with creativity and expression.

Why photocollage?

A collage is a form of art in which separate images are arranged and assembled to create a new whole. Engaging in artistic projects like digital photo collages can be illuminating—allowing participants to process memories and emotions in a new way, discovering new perspectives.

Additionally, a digital photo collage encourages flexibility. Participants can choose which images they want to use, the number of images they want to use, and the order to arrange them. The different options for arrangements allow for new and creative links between visual elements. The digital component also adds flexibility to the process, as adults do not have to cut or glue images as in physical collage. This flexible, creative, and playful approach creates a safe space for older adults to retell and relive their life experiences.

For this study, the creative process of producing an online digital photo collage was in the context of the dignity therapy (DT) framework. Dignity therapy is a form of narrative therapy used by older adults approaching the end of their lives. Studies have shown that using photographs in dignity therapy as a part of improved mood art therapy is an effective way to recall memories and structure narratives. This type of therapy provides a structured process that encourages the participants to create and process their life stories to increase one’s sense of dignity and meaning in life.

In each therapy session, participants were shown a series of photographs and told to choose photos that they felt represented their life experiences. Participants were then instructed to arrange their photographs on a blank screen, creating a story through the images.

Results

Participants experienced profound emotional responses to the photos and their finished collages in each therapy session. One participant used his collage (featuring a rocky landscape) to process his view of life and death, making meaning through his art:

“The landscape that I see there, look, it’s not only the desert, a crater. There are changes there. Look at the crater, the sand, the earth, the color, the granite. This is all a landscape of how the world changes. This is something. Look at the sand, yellowish-gray in color, the crumbling tree trunk. Thousands of years. This is life, exactly like life. We age, crumble. Crumble and finish. It’s the same, the same. Like a mirror (of life).” 

Another participant told her belief that using visual images to express her feelings felt safer and more positive than other types of therapy: “Well, I think showing pictures, in general, to evoke whatever the topic is, is a very good idea. I think it leads, for me at least, to an enjoyable experience. With an interview, you have preconceived ideas about what you want to know. But the pictures allowed me to be the one to more or less lead where we’re going to go. I didn’t feel invaded. I didn’t feel attacked in any way. I felt safe.” Photocollages allowed for a comfortable distance between participants and their therapeutic experience.

The photo collage project even allowed some participants to reckon with and accept death. One participant selected a photo of a clock and titled it “How time flies,” and then selected a photo of birds, which she called “Flight to the sky,” each of these photos representing her life and the things she experienced. Then she added a photo of a burning candle and said: “And the candle, that is the end. I would like (it) to be in my bedroom, surrounded by my family. And close friends. And they should sing me songs that I like. I could go peacefully.”

Although most participants had never used Zoom or engaged with art therapy, the findings of this study suggest that these art-based interventions enabled a creative, therapeutic process in which adults could freely process their life experiences in a safe, creative space.

Online therapy for older adults

The success of tele-CAT in this study is not only promising for the future of art therapy for older adults, but it also demonstrates the need to develop more opportunities for online therapy for the aging population. Online therapy is a workaround to many common barriers that prevent the elderly population and the general public from seeking therapy, like mobility issues, lack of transportation, social stigma, and financial difficulties.

Beyond this, online therapy has been found to be just as effective as in-person treatment for a variety of conditions. This effectiveness means that the lack of physical connection is not a significant detriment to the person receiving the therapy, which makes it a viable option for many who may not otherwise be able to receive treatment.

For older adults, a decline in mobility can make it even more difficult to get care. Social isolation—a condition that commonly affects older adults—is associated with a decline in physical health and thinking skills. However, arts-based online therapeutic interventions, led by an art therapist, can offer a space to connect with a mental health professional and process life experiences while maintaining a sense of creativity and playfulness, as well as enhance physical ability through engaging creative activities.