2023-04-27 03:27:44
The dozen women in the group were instructed to think of a color, in the morning, a bit like their mood. In the afternoon, go to the museum MO.CO-Panacea
in the center of Montpellier, for a workshop led by the visual artist Valerie Du Chene. Around a large table, each participant paints a stone with her color of the day. Their work will result in a collective color chart of 70 different shades.
“It’s really the idea that there is no pressure, like suspended time. This human encounter is very pleasant” – Valérie Du Chéné, artist
The participants were “sent there” by the service of Prof. Philippe Courtet
, head of psychiatric emergencies at Montpellier University Hospital. Most of them suffer from relatively severe depressions. When the doctor suggested the program to Sophie, she immediately accepted and she has no regrets. She greatly appreciates these soothing moments. “It’s the fact of feeling safe with people who live or know things more or less similar to what I experienced through the disease. It feels good to exchange with people who know but do not judge, while having the pleasure of painting, of creating”.
“It made me happy to be able to express myself with painting. You can take it as a treatment, for me it’s more of an expression, a creation” – Anne-Marie, participant
Of a slightly more advanced age, Anne-Marie, bipolar, is also delighted to take part in these workshops, in a friendly place that is not associated with the disease : exhibition galleries, café, restaurant, large patio with trees. “I’ve been looking for a treatment to be in well-being for 22 years when I have crises and there I find that it gives us serenity. And then it occupies our minds, we don’t think about the pains or seizures that we have.”
“Art is good for health. Engaging in artistic activities is good for health. And even more so, practicing art. So the objective is to allow patients suffering from very common psychiatric pathologies such as depression to obtain a benefit for their mental health and well-being” – Pr Philippe Courtet, psychiatrist
And all it’s not a gimmick assures Professor Philippe Courtet. “This is definitely not occupational therapy in disguise. We do not send the patient to the museum to pass his time, because he is bored. We send the patient to the museum because the artistic practice is good for emotional expression, cognitive stimulation, the resumption of social contacts”. Each workshop lasts five weeks, starting at two hours per week with the same artist.
The goal is to scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of prescription art, a pilot project, for make it a recognized treatment. And why not, one day, reimbursed by Social Security?
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