"Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution" Peter Kropotkin, 1972, New York University Press, New York).
"Institutions of mutual support" (when talking about care homes)
"Care Homes and the NHS: The Silent Scandal" Nick Triggle, February 2016, BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35462112, accessed 31.10.16
"While there is close scrutiny of everything from A&E waiting times to access to the latest cancer drugs, the support - or rather lack of it - care home residents receive from the NHS has gone almost unnoticed."
"As care-home residents tend not to live that long once they reach the stage where they need round-the-clock care and given their extreme frailty, the human stories that often grab the attention are not always heard."
"Care home worker jailed for abuse of 89-year-old woman caught on hidden camera" Helen Nugent, August 2012, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/29/care-home-worker-hidden-camera, accessed 31.10.16
"Bryan, 29, hit and shook Robinson, verbally abused her on a number of occasions and failed to administer proper doses of medicine. Along with her colleague Katherine Wallis, 45, she dragged Robinson across her bedroom floor, making the elderly woman scream in pain. Wallis then threatened her with violence. Abuse spanning five days was captured on the hidden CCTV camera after Robinson's family became concerned about bruises on her body and saw that she was more distressed than usual. She suffers from dementia and had lived at the home for six years."
"[She was] physically, verbally and medically neglected and abused by staff who should have provided this care."
The Hippocratic Oath
Taken by doctors and other medical professionals before they go onto practice. I've selected various bits that may be relevant to my essay from it...
(http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202502&p=1335759, accessed 10.11.16)
"I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow."
"I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug."
"I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm."
"The Benefits of Creative Therapy for People With Dementia" (Rylatt, P, 2012, Nursing Standard, http://www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NSp42-47wk33.pdf, accessed 10.11.16)
"The evaluation has emphasised the positive effects
of creative or artistic approaches on dementia care, and supports
previous research on the use of such approaches in NHS dementia
care services. Further research on the immediate and longer-term
outcomes and benefits of creative therapy for people with
dementia is recommended to support the routine availability of
such therapy in dementia care." (pg.1)
"NICE
(2006) guidelines for dementia care recommend
several arts-based approaches, including the use
of multisensory stimulation, such as music and
dance, for patients with comorbid agitation and
behaviour that challenges." (pg.1)
"Positive benefits
of involvement with the arts on mental health,
specifically self-esteem, wellbeing, recovery
and perception of pain, have been reported" (pg.1)
"Neurological deterioration in
the frontal lobes in Alzheimer’s disease inhibits
motivation and self-expression. Arts and creative
activities can enable emotional release and
provide a means to communicate via creative
self-expression in patients with dementia who
have affected verbal expression." (pg.3)
"It is recommended that creative therapy
is adopted in mainstream care services for patients
with dementia, and that biopsychosocial approaches
to mental health nursing are adopted by nurse
leaders, and underpinned by local creative policies." (pg.6)
Monday 31 October 2016
Marxism - Ideas and Quotes
I would like to be able to bring in Marxism to support the arguments of how our society isn't built to favour and work effectively with supporting the older generations, but I am struggling with how! I've only just got my head around what Marxism really is (and still feel like I could easily get the wrong end of the stick with it.) However, it is theory and you can bend theory pretty far in most directions to back up any point (to a point).
I need to find quotes that can support the dehumanisation of the elderly and why this is bad; why they are still valuable to society and why we should aim to support everyone we can; everyone is equal, why and how a capitalist society does not support them as they fall to the bottom of the list of priorities. However, I do need to avoid going a bit too communist.
I could also link Marx to the ideas about the devaluation of reproductive work in todays society and why people would be less inclined to go and work as a carer/support the old.
"Reflections of a Young Man on the Choice of a Profession" (Karl Marx, 1835, First published in the yearly Archiv für die Geschichte des Sozalismas und der Arbeiterbewegung, Ed. K. Grünberg, Leipzig, 1925)
"History calls those men the greatest who have ennobled themselves by working for the common good; experience acclaims as happiest the man who has made the greatest number of people happy; religion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at nought such judgments?" (pg.7)
"The high regard we have for the ideas on which our profession is based gives us a higher standing in society, enhances our own worth, and makes our actions un-challengeable." (pg.6)
"A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy" (Karl Marx, 1859, Progress Publishers, Moscow, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Marx_Contribution_to_the_Critique_of_Political_Economy.pdf, accessed 31.10.16)
"It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness." (pg. 4)
"A Marxist Approach to Problems of the Ageing" (Louis Proyect, 2011, Swans.com, http://www.swans.com/library/art17/lproy68.html, accessed 31/10/16)
"You are confronted with major economic challenges, since the costs of care for the elderly are enormous in a capitalist society racing to eradicate the last vestiges of the welfare state."(pg.1)
"Capitalist society is very good at turning people into individual economic actors but even better at destroying traditional bonds of solidarity and support." (pg.1)
"It is not surprising that Marxism has had little to say about the problems of ageing since it is imbued with "productivist" conceptions that absorbed from bourgeois economics in the nineteenth century". (pg.4)
"We should think about ways that elders can be reintegrated into society rather than dumped in institutions far from sight." (pg.5)
I need to find quotes that can support the dehumanisation of the elderly and why this is bad; why they are still valuable to society and why we should aim to support everyone we can; everyone is equal, why and how a capitalist society does not support them as they fall to the bottom of the list of priorities. However, I do need to avoid going a bit too communist.
I could also link Marx to the ideas about the devaluation of reproductive work in todays society and why people would be less inclined to go and work as a carer/support the old.
"Reflections of a Young Man on the Choice of a Profession" (Karl Marx, 1835, First published in the yearly Archiv für die Geschichte des Sozalismas und der Arbeiterbewegung, Ed. K. Grünberg, Leipzig, 1925)
"History calls those men the greatest who have ennobled themselves by working for the common good; experience acclaims as happiest the man who has made the greatest number of people happy; religion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at nought such judgments?" (pg.7)
"The high regard we have for the ideas on which our profession is based gives us a higher standing in society, enhances our own worth, and makes our actions un-challengeable." (pg.6)
"A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy" (Karl Marx, 1859, Progress Publishers, Moscow, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Marx_Contribution_to_the_Critique_of_Political_Economy.pdf, accessed 31.10.16)
"It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness." (pg. 4)
"A Marxist Approach to Problems of the Ageing" (Louis Proyect, 2011, Swans.com, http://www.swans.com/library/art17/lproy68.html, accessed 31/10/16)
"You are confronted with major economic challenges, since the costs of care for the elderly are enormous in a capitalist society racing to eradicate the last vestiges of the welfare state."(pg.1)
"Capitalist society is very good at turning people into individual economic actors but even better at destroying traditional bonds of solidarity and support." (pg.1)
"It is not surprising that Marxism has had little to say about the problems of ageing since it is imbued with "productivist" conceptions that absorbed from bourgeois economics in the nineteenth century". (pg.4)
"We should think about ways that elders can be reintegrated into society rather than dumped in institutions far from sight." (pg.5)
Tuesday 25 October 2016
Monday 24 October 2016
Initial rough essay structure (ideas)
Intro (1000 words)
Chapter 1 (3000 words max)
Chapter 2 - Case Studies (3000 words max)
Conclusion (1000 words)
- My subject/question and why I am looking at it
- Why should we care about the elderly, in particular dementia sufferers
- Aims of the essay (what do I want to the reader to get out of it)
- Roughly introduce my key texts and theorists and how they will be supporting this argument (briefly!)
Chapter 1 (3000 words max)
- Statistics of the elderly in the UK (numbers, lifespan, rising population, estimated population etc, issues.)
- How people currently view the elderly in the UK (attitudes, money vs.time, family, government, capitalism; Marx?)
- Introduce dementia; more stats, current research efforts, shock factors, negative symptoms
- Foucault - "Madness and Civilisation"; the treatment of the mentally ill, how this links with the current attitudes of the elderly, in particular dementia...
- ...back up with little bit about mental health awareness day and reference image, why should dementia be more involved in mental health awareness.
- The current favoured treatments for dementia (drugs/medicalisation) and the availability of other therapies, NHS vs. Private
- Negative findings in relation to drug treatments
- Summary of creative therapies (what is it), how it works for dementia sufferers and why it could be better for many than psychoactive drug treatments (quality of life!)
- Palliative care - what is it, why dementia should be being given the same attention and treatment (quality of life!)
- Amabile and Kramer - "The Progress Principle"; explain and apply to dementia (quality of life!)
- Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs - explain and apply to dementia
Chapter 2 - Case Studies (3000 words max)
- Alzhiemers.org examples
- Snoezelen and sensory stimulation - apply to dementia, give positive examples
- The Hen Power Project - explain what it is, give some positive examples, give my findings (hopefully!), link to practical project and how this is a personal case study (synthesis)
- Prinzhorn - works of art, why is it relevant, link to dementia (bring in stuff from the article to do with the elderly giving back into society by being involved in the arts)
- The writing cure? (still need to research! Link to dementia)
Conclusion (1000 words)
- Revisit why I think it's important to care about the elderly, in particular dementia sufferers
- Why more focus should be given to creative therapies - highlight benefits
- What we should do to be able to give more opportunities for creative therapies; voluntary local workshops, working with the older generations
- What we as younger generations can learn and gain from the elderly; how will it benefit us to make the effort? What can they give back to society and how can this help people see that they are "productive"?
- How this will help build relationships, respect and trust within society between generations - end on a nicer note
Re-thinking my essay question
"How can creative therapies be used to positively influence the quality of life of the ageing population, in particular dementia sufferers?"
(21 words - too long?)
"How can the creative industries positively influence the quality of life of the ageing population, in particular dementia sufferers?"
(19 words)
I don't really know! I feel as I start to write my essay the question will start to form more clearly, but obviously I am meant to write an essay based on and answering my question. I feel like now I have a rough structure this shouldn't be an issue?
Sunday 23 October 2016
More useful statistics
These fairly grim statistics will help me back up a lot of points within the essay here and there. They are great in terms of shock factor.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/statistics
accessed 24th October 2016
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=412
accessed 24th October 2016
"If current trends continue and no action is taken, the number of people with dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to 1,142,677 by 2025 and 2,092,945 by 2051, an increase of 40% over the next 12 years and of 156% over the next 38 years."
"Population Ageing in the United Kingdom, its Constituent Countries and European Union" (Office for National Statistics, 2012)
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_258607.pdf
accessed 24th October 2016
"The fastest population increases have been in the ‘oldest old’ (those aged 85 and over). Between
1985 and 2010 the percentage of the population aged 85 and over increased from 1 per cent to 2
per cent, with the number aged 85 and over more than doubling from nearly 0.7 million to reach
over 1.4 million by 2010. By 2035 it is projected that the number of people aged 85 and over will be
almost 2.5 times larger than in 2010, reaching 3.5 million and accounting for 5 per cent of the total
UK population." (pg.4)
Friday 21 October 2016
Current attitudes towards the elderly in the UK
Some ideas of what I could include...
- Elderly care in a capitalist society has always been in a bit of a crisis, as they are no longer 'useful' and productive to society so they get pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities to sort out.
- The devaluation of reproductive work (care work, cooking, cleaning, childcare, the paid domestic labour force) has led to funds distributed to elderly care to diminish and be allocated elsewhere (also why carers are so underpaid, especially when working for NHS organisations).
- The task for caring for the old has been left to families and charities, with very little external support; back in the day the women would have been left to this job, but as now many women have full time careers and are less likely to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, there is even less people than before to look after them.
- The government has responded by giving informal caregivers more rights to a flexible work/care balance, but they have continued to tighten budgets on elderly care (it's a bit of a rubbish compromise).
- Most families cannot afford good care homes or to hire visiting carers, or to pay for services matching their real needs.
- They are a strain on the younger generations, a strain that will only continue to increase as the amount of elderly constantly increases.
- They are a drain on the government and NHS funds.
Art + Care: A Future
Art + Care: A Future (Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones, Silvia Federici, Franco Berardi, Yanki Lee, Sally Tallant, Janna Graham, Serpentine Galleries and Koenig Books Ltd., 2013, London)
"Art + Care: A Future is a publication that speculates on future alliances between the fields of art and elderly care. Featuring essays by key thinkers on issues of ageing and the future, and is contextualised by case studies from five years of the Serpentine Gallery's work in placing artists, designers, researchers and architects in the field of elderly care through the project Skills Exchange: Urban Transformation and the Politics of Care 2007–2012. Each Skills Exchange project was based on an extended artistic residency in a space of elderly care, through which participants were invited to engage with the creative process to challenge stereotypes and social norms.
Beyond providing a service for the role of the care sector, the contributors argue that art has a role to play in challenging the marginalisation of the aged, while ageing provokes fundamental questions to the field of art."
(http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/shop/art-care-future)
"On Elder Care" Silvia Federici, 2013
"There are currently 10 million people aged sixty-five and over in the UK, and by 2050 there will be 19 million. Many face intense forms of segregation and isolation. The needs of older people are complex and studies have proved the importance of artistic and creative opportunities in increasing well-being and reducing isolation of the elderly...It is only through understanding the intersections between elderly care and other social sectors that we can begin to imagine what the future could look like. How can artistic practices assist in this imagining of elderly care and all of its complex interdependencies?" (pg.6)
"The continuing process of urbanisation and the gentrification of working class neighbourhoods have destroyed the support networks and and the forms of mutual aid in which older people living alone could once rely, as neighbours would bring them food, make their beds, come for a chat." (pg.13)
"It is now recognised that for a large number of the elderly, the positive effects of a longer life span have been voided or clouded by the prospect of loneliness, social exclusion and increased vulnerability to physical and psychological abuse." (pg.13)
"A cultural revolution is necessary in the concept of old age, challenging its degradation as a fiscal burden on the state and younger generations." (pg.13)
"Elder care suffers from a double cultural and social devaluation". (pg.14)
"In England and wales, it is reckoned that 5.2 million people provide informal care, starting in April 2007 caregivers for adults were given the right to demand flexible work schedules". (pg.15)
"How Old is Old? Designing Participation Tactics to Nurture the Ingenuity of Ageing for our Future Selves" Yanki Lee, 2013
SUMMARY: His point is basically saying it is a really good idea to involve the elderly in projects, especially design projects, as they will enlighten young designers with ideas they would not have though of otherwise as they have experienced more and have "tools" younger people don't. It also benefits the elderly as they are involved and are then "ageing actively". It also gives them connected social communities and purpose.
"The historian Peter Laslett once stated the ageing is 'a unique experience for each individual'. His famous slogan was 'live in the presence of all your future selves', which promotes a life-long approach to ageing issues." (pg.35)
"Beyond the creation of places and things, participation in design has extended to the design of experience, services and processes. Additionally, involving end-users (the person who actually uses a particular product) in design has become an essential component of design research." (pg.36)
"To advocate for stronger design participation in the ageing process is, then, not only to advocate change in the design field, but also for a society that can provide the conditions for older people to form communities of practice in the making and shaping of their lives." (pg.39)
"Art + Care: A Future is a publication that speculates on future alliances between the fields of art and elderly care. Featuring essays by key thinkers on issues of ageing and the future, and is contextualised by case studies from five years of the Serpentine Gallery's work in placing artists, designers, researchers and architects in the field of elderly care through the project Skills Exchange: Urban Transformation and the Politics of Care 2007–2012. Each Skills Exchange project was based on an extended artistic residency in a space of elderly care, through which participants were invited to engage with the creative process to challenge stereotypes and social norms.
Beyond providing a service for the role of the care sector, the contributors argue that art has a role to play in challenging the marginalisation of the aged, while ageing provokes fundamental questions to the field of art."
(http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/shop/art-care-future)
"On Elder Care" Silvia Federici, 2013
"There are currently 10 million people aged sixty-five and over in the UK, and by 2050 there will be 19 million. Many face intense forms of segregation and isolation. The needs of older people are complex and studies have proved the importance of artistic and creative opportunities in increasing well-being and reducing isolation of the elderly...It is only through understanding the intersections between elderly care and other social sectors that we can begin to imagine what the future could look like. How can artistic practices assist in this imagining of elderly care and all of its complex interdependencies?" (pg.6)
"The continuing process of urbanisation and the gentrification of working class neighbourhoods have destroyed the support networks and and the forms of mutual aid in which older people living alone could once rely, as neighbours would bring them food, make their beds, come for a chat." (pg.13)
"It is now recognised that for a large number of the elderly, the positive effects of a longer life span have been voided or clouded by the prospect of loneliness, social exclusion and increased vulnerability to physical and psychological abuse." (pg.13)
"A cultural revolution is necessary in the concept of old age, challenging its degradation as a fiscal burden on the state and younger generations." (pg.13)
"Elder care suffers from a double cultural and social devaluation". (pg.14)
"In England and wales, it is reckoned that 5.2 million people provide informal care, starting in April 2007 caregivers for adults were given the right to demand flexible work schedules". (pg.15)
"How Old is Old? Designing Participation Tactics to Nurture the Ingenuity of Ageing for our Future Selves" Yanki Lee, 2013
SUMMARY: His point is basically saying it is a really good idea to involve the elderly in projects, especially design projects, as they will enlighten young designers with ideas they would not have though of otherwise as they have experienced more and have "tools" younger people don't. It also benefits the elderly as they are involved and are then "ageing actively". It also gives them connected social communities and purpose.
"The historian Peter Laslett once stated the ageing is 'a unique experience for each individual'. His famous slogan was 'live in the presence of all your future selves', which promotes a life-long approach to ageing issues." (pg.35)
"Beyond the creation of places and things, participation in design has extended to the design of experience, services and processes. Additionally, involving end-users (the person who actually uses a particular product) in design has become an essential component of design research." (pg.36)
"To advocate for stronger design participation in the ageing process is, then, not only to advocate change in the design field, but also for a society that can provide the conditions for older people to form communities of practice in the making and shaping of their lives." (pg.39)
Emailing the Equal Arts Opportunities!
I have emailed in the hope that I can get some experience to do some primary research; observational drawings, maybe photographs and some written observations. I am still aware of the ethical limitations; it will only be basic stuff! Even if they don't let me record anything it will still be fun and good experience.
*just realised there's a typo, brilliant
Thursday 20 October 2016
Art Therapy and Palliative Care
Art Therapy in Palliative Care (M. Pratt and M.Wood, 1988, Routledge Publishers, East Sussex)
"...pain has emotional, psychological and social components as well as physical ones, and in order to adequately care for the patients all aspects of their suffering need to be addressed." (pg. 13)
"The aim of hospice care is to favour quality of life over quantity, but as many working in this area point out increasing the quality for the individual may well result in the increase in it's length also." (pg.13)
- Palliative care is more aimed towards at terminal diseases such as cancer, HIV or motor neurone disease, but dementia is in effect a terminal illness and the aims of the practice are what all people should be considering when caring for people suffering from it. It covers some important points in what I am aiming to argue in the essay; that quality of life is a very (if not the most) important factor to consider when caring for dementia sufferers.
"...pain has emotional, psychological and social components as well as physical ones, and in order to adequately care for the patients all aspects of their suffering need to be addressed." (pg. 13)
"The aim of hospice care is to favour quality of life over quantity, but as many working in this area point out increasing the quality for the individual may well result in the increase in it's length also." (pg.13)
"The possibility of depicting something personal which can be changed and developed in a series of images is a very useful part of the therapeutic process, as is the permanence of the artwork, for it allows a continued exploration, reflection and comparison over a number of sessions whereas words can be more easily forgotten or denied." (pg. 2)
"Two organisations which promote the use of arts in healthcare in the UK are Hospital Arts and Hospice Arts. Artists, sculptors, writers, poets and musicians are variously employed, as artists-in-residence, or as project workers providing workshops to encourage patient participation. The creative activities promoted by such arts agencies are aimed at improving the milieu and enhancing the patients quality of life." (pg. 4)
Hanz Prinzhorn - Artistry of the Mentally Ill
Prinzhorn worked in a mental institution where people mainly with schizophrenia "lived", and collected little works of art they produced which snowballed into a collection he published in this book. He was interested in how the work they created showed another side to art and gave the world a different outlook on how the work created by mentally ill patients can be something more than a curiosity.
"Before Prinzhorn, pictures by the mentally ill were more or less considered mere curiosities. They were seldom studied scientifically and were never subjected to a thorough and suitable analysis. The pictures by patients who suffered from dementia praecox (premature senility, an earlier description of schizophrenia) impressed observers as astonishing and basically inexplicable effusions from the realm of the psychic dead. To Prinzhorn, who in the Beideiberg clinic had adopted the theory of schizophrenia of the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, they were eruptions of a universal human creative urge which counteracts the disease's autistic tendencies toward isolation."
(pg.6, Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 1972, New York)
(pg. 13, Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 1972, New York)
"Before Prinzhorn, pictures by the mentally ill were more or less considered mere curiosities. They were seldom studied scientifically and were never subjected to a thorough and suitable analysis. The pictures by patients who suffered from dementia praecox (premature senility, an earlier description of schizophrenia) impressed observers as astonishing and basically inexplicable effusions from the realm of the psychic dead. To Prinzhorn, who in the Beideiberg clinic had adopted the theory of schizophrenia of the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, they were eruptions of a universal human creative urge which counteracts the disease's autistic tendencies toward isolation."
(pg.6, Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 1972, New York)
(pg. 13, Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 1972, New York)
- Again, not to do with dementia but schizophrenia and contains a lot of interesting case studies about people with mental illnesses who took to art as an outlet, even when it was not given to them as a therapy option. They naturally gravitated towards it either as a pastime or a way of expressing themselves in times of frustration. Could I maybe somehow bring this in as a way of backing up the importance of creative therapies?
- Could also give me some images to reference!
Amabile and Kramer - The Progress Principle
"Amabile and Kramer asked 238 people (from 26 project teams in seven major organisations) to keep an anonymous diary, so that they could track their experiences on a daily basis. They received more than 12,000 separate diary entries, which they used to analyse people's "inner work lives" – their perceptions, emotions, and motivation levels – and to explore how this affected their performance.
They found that when people consistently take steps forward – even small steps – on meaningful projects, they are more creative, productive, and engaged, and they have better relationships. This, in turn, has a positive influence on their work performance.
In short, achieving and recognising regular "small wins" helps people have rich, engaged, and productive work lives. As any experienced manager knows, happy, engaged, and productive team members can achieve far more than unhappy team members."
(https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/progress-theory.htm)
- This is NOT to do with dementia, but when researching other potential theorists I stumbled across this theory. The last section which mentions "small wins" is potentially useful, as well as the second which talks about how having a project and goals to focus on motivates people, giving them something to aim for and therefore improves their quality of life. If you ignore how Amabile and Kramer are focusing on work and the working environment, you could apply this theory to something like the Hen Power Project, as giving dementia sufferers a little project (like looking after hens and painting pictures of them) will have a positive influence on the quality of their lives.
Tuesday 18 October 2016
Focault - Madness and Civilisation
"At the end of the Middle Ages, leprosy disappeared from the western world. In the margins of community, at the gates of cities, there stretched wastelands where sickness had ceased to haunt but had left sterile and long uninhabitable."
Madness and Civilisation: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (pg. 3, 1965, United States of New York, Random House Inc.)
The leper was excluded from normal society and by excluding him, society defined itself. The unhealthy and frightening was excluded, the healthy and safe was accepted. Leprosy existed in a particular "space" within society. This space was both real and imaginary; buildings were created to house the excluded lepers, but they also existed in a certain cultural space on the edge of the normal community. The "wastelands" that Foucault describes are partly a creation of the mind; they were eventually repopulated by madmen, who replaced the lepers as an excluded class. Madness does not resemble leprosy, but in a way Foucault believes that it occupies the same place in society.
Apply theory to dementia by pointing out that although people with dementia shouldn't be stigmatised as "mad", they are (in western societies) put quietly aside in the corner in care homes and dementia units, cast aside to the invisible spaces as 'the mad old lady down the road'. They are surely a modern version of the lepers in the sense that they are an excluded class.
Madness and Civilisation: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (pg. 3, 1965, United States of New York, Random House Inc.)
The leper was excluded from normal society and by excluding him, society defined itself. The unhealthy and frightening was excluded, the healthy and safe was accepted. Leprosy existed in a particular "space" within society. This space was both real and imaginary; buildings were created to house the excluded lepers, but they also existed in a certain cultural space on the edge of the normal community. The "wastelands" that Foucault describes are partly a creation of the mind; they were eventually repopulated by madmen, who replaced the lepers as an excluded class. Madness does not resemble leprosy, but in a way Foucault believes that it occupies the same place in society.
Apply theory to dementia by pointing out that although people with dementia shouldn't be stigmatised as "mad", they are (in western societies) put quietly aside in the corner in care homes and dementia units, cast aside to the invisible spaces as 'the mad old lady down the road'. They are surely a modern version of the lepers in the sense that they are an excluded class.
Wednesday 12 October 2016
Monday 10 October 2016
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
"The deficiency needs are said to motivate people when they are unmet. Also, the need to fulfil such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.
One must satisfy lower level deficit needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. When a deficit need has been satisfied it will go away. Our activities become habitually directed towards meeting the next set of needs that we have yet to satisfy. These then become our salient needs. However, growth needs continue to be felt and may even become stronger once they have been engaged. Once these growth needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.
Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Life experiences, including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy. Therefore, not everyone will move through the hierarchy in a uni-directional manner but may move back and forth between the different types of needs."
(http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html)
Maslow's Theory and Dementia:
If you apply Maslow's theory, it is backing up the argument of the benefits of enhancing the life of dementia patients. If you treat them like they have dementia, then they will act and feel like they have dementia (more so than otherwise).
"The study of crippled, stunted, immature and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy." (Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 1954, pg.234)
If you also consider how dementia and Alzheimer's work, it is like looking at Maslow's pyramid in reverse. As the brain degenerates, most of the time the actions in the top of the pyramid (hobbies, activities, etc.) In terms of using creative therapies to enhance the quality of life of a dementia patient, this is where creative activities would fall. If you manage to keep this stage of the 'needs pyramid' solid for as long as possible, then the quality of life will be much higher. In some cases a persons physical ability can degenerate first, but it is much rarer. It is losing 'self actualisation' and esteem that really start to kickstart the negative symptoms such as stress, confusion and depression.
World Mental Health Awareness Day
Today is World Mental Health Awareness Day. I didn't actually know it was today until I went online and saw the trending news, but it is good to see it is being acknowledged and brought into everyday conversation.
Although dementia isn't one of the first conditions that jumps to mind when thinking or talking about mental illness, it is one of the fastest growing and most important ones we should be focusing on due to the ageing population. It is a degenerative disease, different to others like bipolar, so this could be a reason why it is not focused so heavily on. Another factor to consider is the negative symptoms and outcomes of dementia, for example anxiety and depression, which are potentially the most currently focused on mental health problems. It should not be pushed aside and should be talked about as much as other conditions when referencing mental health.*
*Could I bring something to do with this into my essay?
Although dementia isn't one of the first conditions that jumps to mind when thinking or talking about mental illness, it is one of the fastest growing and most important ones we should be focusing on due to the ageing population. It is a degenerative disease, different to others like bipolar, so this could be a reason why it is not focused so heavily on. Another factor to consider is the negative symptoms and outcomes of dementia, for example anxiety and depression, which are potentially the most currently focused on mental health problems. It should not be pushed aside and should be talked about as much as other conditions when referencing mental health.*
*Could I bring something to do with this into my essay?
This is an image out of today's Metro Online by Liberty Antonia Sadler. (http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/09/world-mental-health-day-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important-6181925/)
I think it is one of the most patronising and sickly (and rubbish) illustrations I have ever seen in my life. Considering it is going to be so widely viewed due to the website it is being showed on I really don't think its going to be effective in the right way. If I had a mental illness this is not at all how I would want the general population (who have little understanding of it anyway) to view it. It literally has a brain with a raincloud over it, hearts and hand holding. Just no. A very bad example of editorial illustration about a sensitive subject. If anything it is making it MORE sensitive!
I'm sorry Liberty Antonia Sadler, it's just not right.
Wednesday 5 October 2016
Notes to take from first crit...
Good stuff:
- Interesting idea
- Good initial literature search
- Good ideas for primary research
- Good ideas for practical brief - screenprint (use COP to develop my skillset as if it were extended practice)
- Good presentation/pitch
To do:
- Find theorists and theories - I have lots of case studies and facts but not theory. Look into Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and apply it to what I have been trying to prove/argue.
- Look into "the writing cure"; a different kind of creative therapy used in the first and second world wars to treat shellshock. Not dementia but could be interesting and potentially relevant!
- Read the latest issue of Varoom - there is an article on creativity and wellbeing.
- How are the elderly seen in other cultures? For example, in asian communities where the elderly are highly respected and looked after by younger members of the family, whereas we lean more towards the 'stick the mad old lady in the corner and forget about her' treatment and of the older generation.
- Find images!!!!
- Start drawing!!!
- Contact Hen Power Project
Monday 3 October 2016
Hen Power Project
This is a video I found summarising what the Hen Power Project and the Equal Arts Charity do, off of the charity website (https://equalarts.org.uk/our-work/henpower/)
It's a nice way to see the kind of activities they run for the residents of various homes, and how happy they look taking part! This is similar to the activities and creative workshops I used to run when I worked for Signature.
I want to see if I can volunteer at a local care home in Leeds to do some workshops, which will allow me to get some really good observational drawings and photographs (I know I need to get consent and ethical approval etc. We could do drawing sessions where they draw me and I draw them, so it is interactive and sociable. I also want to take some written observations of how residents behave before, during and after workshops. I could also maybe ask nurses and carers how they usually behave (prone to agitation, enjoy painting regularly etc.) Again, I know I really need to consider ethical standards and find out what is deemed acceptable for the home, residents and family members. My last intention is to agitate anyone further or put people in a position where they feel like they are being 'studied'.
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