$7,500 ReuthRebuilds TheArtTherapy
Art in Action
Most art therapy activities at the Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital take place in groups in our beautiful roof-top therapy center, while bedside sessions for patients on ventilation support are also held in their departments. The therapy programs (both group and individual) are tailored for each patient's needs and include painting, drawing, jewelry making, sculpting, mosaic art, embroidery, digital art sensory stimulation, beading and knitting. New art techniques developed last year, such as sculpting with iron wires and woodwork continue to be implemented, as well as the use of high quality acrylic colors and canvases.
One of the most creative activities we used in art therapy this year has been workshops with facial protection masks. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced us all to wear masks in public. The new "dress code" brought about creative designs which allow each one of us to express ourselves by choosing the color, type and style of mask to show our own personality. We can stand out without even using facial expressions.
But masks are not just for defense against the Coronavirus. Here at the hospital, they serve us as a therapeutic tool. The mask gives the patient a creative space in which he chooses what to hide and what to reveal and expose his identity and feelings. The creative process allows him to look inward, while maintaining the protection he needs.
In the therapeutic space, the patient can remove some of the masks he wears every day, in a protected and non-threatening environment. In the therapeutic session, we use a combination of psychological theories and therapeutic techniques, alongside materials and processes from the creative world. Our goal is to give the patient a non-verbal expression tool, thus opening a window to the mind of patients in a welcoming and non-threatening way.
The language of creation also provides alternative means of communication for patients with functional impairment or verbal language delay.
The mask has two sides and in the rehabilitation treatment we allow the patient to choose whether to create both or one of them. For example, in one of the masks, a patient presented the optimistic feelings he shares with his environment on the outer side, while the inner side was divided between hope and pain. This patient actually painted a cracked wall that symbolized the emotional breakdown following the recent traumatic event he experienced.
One of the most creative activities we used in art therapy this year has been workshops with facial protection masks. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced us all to wear masks in public. The new "dress code" brought about creative designs which allow each one of us to express ourselves by choosing the color, type and style of mask to show our own personality. We can stand out without even using facial expressions.
But masks are not just for defense against the Coronavirus. Here at the hospital, they serve us as a therapeutic tool. The mask gives the patient a creative space in which he chooses what to hide and what to reveal and expose his identity and feelings. The creative process allows him to look inward, while maintaining the protection he needs.
In the therapeutic space, the patient can remove some of the masks he wears every day, in a protected and non-threatening environment. In the therapeutic session, we use a combination of psychological theories and therapeutic techniques, alongside materials and processes from the creative world. Our goal is to give the patient a non-verbal expression tool, thus opening a window to the mind of patients in a welcoming and non-threatening way.
The language of creation also provides alternative means of communication for patients with functional impairment or verbal language delay.
The mask has two sides and in the rehabilitation treatment we allow the patient to choose whether to create both or one of them. For example, in one of the masks, a patient presented the optimistic feelings he shares with his environment on the outer side, while the inner side was divided between hope and pain. This patient actually painted a cracked wall that symbolized the emotional breakdown following the recent traumatic event he experienced.