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ABOUT CRAFTS AND THERAPY
By Judith Zausner
Caring Crafts Inc.   

Craft therapy is healing and invigorates the mind as well as the body. Robert Reiner, PhD, a New York University psychologist, says that crafts reduce stress. "The act of performing a craft is incompatible with worry, anger, obsession, and anxiety…. They're stress-busters in the same way that meditation, deep breathing, visual imagery, and watching fish are."

So whether the need to craft is because of an illness or accident, crafting not only exercises physical skills but also reduces stress and enhances well being and self esteem. It provides a sense of accomplishment and pride that triggers positive feelings and promotes a can-do attitude toward other situations. And that is a real benefit of crafts; feeling purposeful in life.

Benefits of therapeutic crafts

In addition to a fun and creative leisure experience, there are many therapeutic benefits of crafts such as:

• ·         Increased cognitive functioning
• ·         Increased self expression and decision making skills
• ·         Increased or maintenance of fine motor skills
• ·         Improved ADL skills
• ·         Enhanced hand-eye coordination
• ·         Increased self esteem and emotional well-being
• ·         Increased opportunity for empowerment and self expression
• ·         Increased socialization

The Caring Crafts approach:

Caring Craft kits are designed with consideration; they must be attractive, easy to make and not contain small parts. Sometimes that is a challenge. For example, initially I was unsure how to provide necklace kits without crimp beads and a nose tip pliers. But with thought, I realized that there were multiple solutions so when I solved the “technical” problem, the visual design was the easy part.  Many of the kits use glue and knots to hold elements in place; glue makes it simple to adhere and knotting is therapeutic and functional.

There is a seemingly endless amount of projects that can be created with limited fine motor skills and/or concentration issues. A large variety of materials can be used from clay to paper to beads to wood to leather; it is simply a matter of interpreting the function of the piece and stepping backwards to create the technical solution and design.

Some facts about this market:

From the US Dept. of Health and Human Services: 

Today, 54 million Americans, or one in five people, are living with at least one disability, and most Americans will experience a disability some time during the course of the lives.

Some people are born with a disability; some people get sick or have an accident that results in a disability; and some people develop a disability as they age.

As we age, the likelihood of having a disability of some kind increases.

U.S. Administration on Aging:

 The older population-persons 65 years or older-numbered 36.3 million in 2004 (the most recent year for which data is available). They represented 12.4% of the U.S. population, about one in every eight Americans. The number of older Americans increased by 3.1 million or 9.3% since 1994, compared to an increase of 13.3% for the under 65 population. However, the number of Americans aged 45-64-who will reach 65 over the next two decades-increased by 39% during this period.

Judith Zausner is the owner of Caring Crafts Inc., an online source that provides simple, yet elegant craft kits. For more information, visit www.caringcrafts.com.