[Dance therapeutic workshop for elderly people living in a home].

Abstract

Elderly persons are often depressive; thus they are in loss of desire and motivation. They don't take care anymore of themselves and seem disembodied. It is exactly on this loss of desire that arts therapies have an impact. This involvement of the body facilitates the awareness of one's often unexploited capacities but also allows the emergence of pleasure and finally desire. Arts therapies are based on the conscience of here and now, with the perspective to become a creative being. It is the matter of helping people to recognize their own creativity that was underestimated by themselves up to here. These sessions allow the patients to go out of their room while bringing them a sensation of relaxation and well-being. They are proud to produce something by themselves and recover thus a certain self-esteem. And, through this activity, they are able to express what they feel. The statistical computations are made with the data of 10 elderly persons aged 77 to 95 years. We analyze the rating scales for self-expression through movement during 10 sessions. The subjects also filled in the Campbell's Index of Well-being in T1 and T2. Arts therapies improve in a significant way the cognitive functioning and the psychological well-being of elderly persons, as well as their quality of life.