Art Therapist specializing in care for the elderly
Hello, my name is Samantha Binder, you can call me Sammy. I am an art therapist passionate about supporting older adults with art therapy. I have experience working in a variety of settings including long-term care, hospital stroke and continuing care units, and in-home art therapy services. In my graduate level training at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute, I began working with this special population and wrote my masters level thesis on the use of art therapy with elders with dementia. The outcomes of my study connected art therapy with enhanced wellbeing for people living with dementia. I continue to witness and deepen my appreciation for the benefits of this work with each new person I have the honour to work with.
I would love the opportunity to provide art therapy support for the elders in your care.
How can art therapy uniquely support seniors?
Enhanced Self-esteem • Independence • Sensory stimulation • Self-expression Communication • Social connection • Enhanced wellbeing • Life in review process
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that utilizes the unique characteristics of the art making process for its therapeutic benefits. Clients are supported to create with drawing, painting, sculpting, and collage to get in touch with and explore their inner world. I focus on identifying clients’ strengths and create tailored opportunities for art making that circumvent cognitive and physical challenges. Some of my most prolific elderly clients have been those who face the most barriers.
Some studies suggest that art therapy can support cognitive maintenance function in people with dementia. Creating art can provide a sense of control, agency, and serve as a means of communication. These opportunities can be invaluable for a person whose traditional means of independent living are inaccessible as a result of illness and the byproducts of aging. Disempowering ageist cultural beliefs can be directly challenged as participants witness their own capacity through individualized opportunities for creation. Social connection can be nurtured in a group art therapy setting where participants witness the creative expression of their peers and connect on shared feelings and experiences.
Art therapy prioritizes process over product, while the end result can be meaningful, the value of the experience is not dependent on the final product. No previous art experience is required to participate in art therapy.
Approach
I work from an eclectic, person-centred, and strengths-based approach informed by Feil’s Validation Theory and Dementiability Methods. I honour client’s experiences and perspectives by meeting them where they are at. I value the importance of honouring and empowering the lived realities of people with dementia. I also incorporate mindfulness-based art therapy into my practice where appropriate as it can be beneficial for some clients.
Ethics
As a professional art therapist, ethical practice is of the utmost importance for the health and safety of my clients. I am committed to uphold confidentiality and professional boundaries in accordance with the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.
Offerings
Art Therapy Groups • Individual Art Therapy
Art Class • Themed Events
I offer group and individual art therapy sessions, art classes for the elderly, and themed events. Art therapy groups run for 1 hour and individual sessions range from 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. Art classes for the elderly are 1.5 hours in length. I am competent in Point Click Care documentation used by long-term care facilities.
Please contact me so we can connect and discuss how I can provide art therapy services for you or the folks you support.
Education
Toronto Art Therapy Institute, Toronto
DTATI, Graduate Level Diploma in Art Therapy
Graduated June, 2018
Queen’s University, Kingston
B.A.H. Art History, History,
Graduated June 2014
Awards
Queen’s University
Graduated cum laude
Contact
info@sammybinderarttherapy.com
(416) 716-3119
Toronto, Canada