A Walk in the Museum…

Within the framework of the support groups for caregivers of people with dementia by Alzheimer Hellas, there was an opportunity to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, Momus. Τwo experiential workshops were held at the Museum. Twelve participants with two psychologists, initially toured the magical world of the museum and were informed by the staff about the history and collections of the museum. Subsequently, inspired by a selected piece of art from the exhibition, an interesting discussion took place, from which emotions, thoughts, and experiences emerged. The group expressed their need to take a breath from the demanding role of caregiving and their desire to find solutions to the complex problems of caregiving. At the end, an art workshop was held where participants created their own artworks inspired by the discussion .Before and after the “walk in the museum,” the participants completed a questionnaire regarding their mood (Brief Mood Introspection Scale, Mayer & Gaschke, 1988), which showed significant improvement in their mood after the experiential workshop. This was also confirmed by the caregivers themselves. One caregiver notably mentioned that the museum visit was equivalent to ten sessions with the group!

The artworks served as a stimulus for reflection and contemplation. Art, after all, is therapeutic in itself. According to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “a great work of art can either cover the horror of reality or—better yet—help us face it.”

Written by Maria Toumpalidou and Maria Engiazarova, Psychologists