Littlehampton home's Art on the Trail event illustrates how art therapy helps people living with dementia

Art therapist Joana Lebedeva has been running sessions at St Winefrides for six years, with a break during Covid, and says the one-to-one sessions are immensely valuable for the residents.

A variety of techniques have been explored and the works created went on show at the home, in St Winefride's Road, this afternoon, accompanied by cheese and wine for visitors.

Joana said: "I come twice a week for a couple of hours and every single time is different. It is a chance to talk to them and they open up, as it is one to one. It has a huge emotional benefit for them.

"For people with dementia, the most important thing is to employ them with something. They say they are no good at it but when they do it, they are amazing."

Resident Joan expressed her love of music in one of her paintings. Using shades of green and yellow, she put brush to paper while listening to music and Joana said to see her at work, letting the music carry her, was wonderful to watch.

Margaret painted a camping scene from her days as a Girl Guide leader. She said it was Blackland Farm, the Girlguiding Activity Centre in East Grinstead, where she had taken a group of girls for a camp when she was a leader in Wick.

Joana said many of the paintings were inspired by memories and that helped open up conversations. Margaret said she had not been a Girl Guide herself but had become involved when her daughters joined in the 1970s.

Andrea painted a picture called Home, using a paintbrush and shades of blue and red, after talking about the home with Joana. What was most amazing, said Joana, was the fact Andrea is completely blind.Joana added: "There are so many techniques we can use. Activity helps to create new neuron cells in the brain, so it is very beneficial for people with dementia."

Often the paintings are created during a discussion and it is only after they are finished that they are identified or named, Joana explained. For example, a lady with hand tremors used her favourite colours of red and green to produce a painting and when asked what it was at the end, she said 'rhubarb'. Joana said she absolutely loved it and it made them both smile.

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication. The aim is to help people change and grow on a personal level.