Fight like a ferret: a novel approach of using art therapy to reduce anxiety in stroke patients undergoing hospital rehabilitation

Ahhh, the stupidity of stroke researchers in full display. You wouldn't need to try art therapy if you had reduced the dead and dying neurons by stopping the neuronal cascade of death. And if you knew how to repeat neuroplasticity your patients wouldn't be so damned anxious about not recovering. Solve the correct problem and the secondary problems won't occur. Rub a couple of your neurons together, maybe you'll become smarter. In the meantime stay away from stroke patients, you are not helping.
http://mh.bmj.com/content/early/2014/01/15/medhum-2013-010448.abstract

Med Humanities doi:10.1136/medhum-2013-010448

• Original article

1. Khalid Ali1,
2. Tony Gammidge2,
3. Diane Waller3

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹Academic Department of Geriatrics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, West Sussex, UK
2. ²School of Art, Media and Design, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK
3. ³School of Applied Social Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

1. Correspondence to Dr Khalid Ali, Academic Department of Geriatrics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Audrey Emerton Building, Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5BE, UK; kmali@btopenworld.com, khalid.ali@bsuh.nhs.uk

• Accepted 21 December 2013
• Published Online First 15 January 2014

Abstract

Rationale The holistic aspect of stroke rehabilitation to include psychological well-being is currently neglected, with more emphasis placed on physical recovery despite anxiety and depression being common poststroke. From the limited amount of current literature, it seems that creative strategies such as art therapy (AT) can be beneficial in reducing isolation and anxiety among stroke patients.

Methods Stroke patients (able to consent) in a hospital rehabilitation unit were invited to participate in two weekly AT sessions for 6 weeks, facilitated by an art psychotherapist using paints, crayons, clay, a camera and an iPad. Hospital anxiety and depression scales (HAD) and therapy outcome measures (TOM) were measured at the beginning and end of the study.

Results Six male patients were recruited, average age 69 years (38–85). Group discussions allowed patients to express openly feelings of frustration as well as hope for physical and emotional recovery: ‘fight like a ferret’, an expression used by a group member. The group produced several art objects and photographic images that were collated using stop-frame animation to produce a 10 min film. Median HAD score for the group was eight points upon entering the study and six points on finishing the study.

Key conclusions There is little attention to the emotional needs of stroke patients in rehabilitation. Properly designed research studies exploring the role of AT in addressing anxiety and depression poststroke are needed. Our study showed that AT was a feasible intervention that helped patients explore the sequel of stroke in an open supportive environment.