Therapeutic Writing Activity Ideas
By Denise Lima-Laskiewicz, AAC, CRmT 1
Heal Through Words
Fictional Story Writing
To create a fictional story on Memorial
Day (for example) ask residents the following
questions:
- What is the name of the character?
- What did you do to celebrate the
day?
- Where did you go?
- Who was with you?
- How does the day end?
Then decide on a title for the article. When
that is completed, gather their names so that
the facilitator can give the appropriate credit
in the by-line. Once the article is written,
read it to the audience while they sit in delight
listening to their creation.
Poetry
Writing
As a group project
it is possible to create a poem by using the
client’s ideas. In the first step ask your
clients what is associated with the appropriate
holiday that you will be discussing. Here
is a list of possible holidays:
1. Father’s Day
2. Memorial Day
3. Independence Day
4. Halloween
5. Christmas
The facilitator starts
a line then asks the clients to name a rhyming
word. For example if the line ends in “way”,
the facilitator asks the group to name some words
that rhyme with the word “way”. Some words
may be day, say, pray or play. Then the
facilitator comes up with a line incorporating
their rhyming word as an appropriate ending to
the second line. This is done until the poem
is complete. The facilitator then asks
the group to provide the poem with a title. Re-read
the poem so that the clients hear it. The
poem can be edited if need be.
Note: It is all right
if the poem does not make sense because this
is their project. The original intention of this
project is for mental stimulation, creativity,
and reminiscing but most of all to have fun!
Our
Story
Families and friends
enjoy knowing about the lives of their grandparents,
friends, great uncles, and great aunts. Through
creative writing techniques it is possible to
record their client’s biographical history and
combine it with scrap booking techniques. This
can be done in a group setting with a facilitator.
The facilitator asks
the appropriate question related to the topic
at hand. For example if the topic is Independence
Day, the facilitator asks the following questions:
1. Who
did you celebrate Independence Day with?
2. What
did you do?
3. Did
you see the fireworks?
4. Where
did you see the fireworks?
The facilitator may
also ask those who are low functioning or have
a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease the same questions. However,
remember to keep it simple and use open ended
questions. For example:
1. Do
you like Independence Day?
2. Did
you go with family?
3. Did
you go to the beach?
4. Did
you go to the park?
5. Did
you go to a barbeque?
6. Did
you have fun?
Whatever the resident
says, record it then write it up. Type
it on stationary that reflects the holiday. Any
office supply store has the appropriate stationary. Again
give the piece a title and the client the byline.
This is a great way
to pass on the memories to the family members. This
is a tangible connection to the client. In fact
as the facilitator you can combine the stories
to create a portfolio. In essence it will be
a biography of the client which will be an eternal
keepsake for family members.
