Many older adults feel isolated and lonely. They may withdraw from society due to narrowing social circles or health issues. Drawing & Talking is attachment-based work which helps to build and reconnect relationships, therefore helping to relieve that feeling of loneliness.

Drawing and Talking moves the client’s attention from their external to their internal world. The process allows the environment around them to seem safer and more secure. This can also create a sense of belonging which can often be lost as a person becomes older.

Drawing and Talking supports older adults to process emotional pain due to past or more recent traumas, such as adapting to a new way of life, financial worries or bereavement.  It is an intervention which helps older adults feel heard and understood, in addition to having their emotional needs met.

Drawing and Talking empowers older adults to explore and express their creativity. This can build self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment. Drawing and Talking works at the individual’s own pace in a gentle and relaxing way.

The flexibility of Drawing and Talking allows it to be delivered in someone’s own home, a group, or community setting. In a care home it can be delivered in someone’s room, should they feel more comfortable there - or in a communal space.

Families feel supported and experience building upon and maintaining connections with their loved ones. Offering Drawing and Talking as a service promotes values of person-centred care and the accommodating of all aspects of care.

Drawing and Talking can be used with those living with mild to moderate dementia because we are not working with the cognitive logical part of the brain but the unconscious emotional part which is the last area of memory to fade.