“We never lose those we love, whether through dementia or death. They are a part of us.” – Katya De Luisa
Katya De Luisa is a dementia educator, caregiver coach, and author of "Journey through the Infinite Mind--the Science and Spirituality of Dementia." She is also an artist who specializes in art therapy. For De Luisa, art is more than just aesthetically pleasing. For her, it’s a window into the inner workings of the mind — and a way to tap into spirituality. Today we will
explore one facet of De Luisa’s writings — communication through art — where she accomplished a nearly impossible feat of getting someone who is non-verbal to communicate with words to a loved one.
According to De Luisa, “(t)he life of every person is a collage composed of pieces of their personal experiences. However, when dementia chips away at the memory and begins to curtail one’s ability to communicate, it’s hard to know what pieces of their life continue to exist, especially when they become non-verbal.” She says, “(u)sing pictures from magazines is a very effective
way to find out, and you don’t have to make collages, although doing this is a highly effective reminiscence therapy.”
De Luisa describes a particular couple she worked with:
