Journal 5
El Duende
Population: Older Adults
Diagnosis: Neurocognitive Disorders
Having done an El Duende over several months before, I was familiar with the process. I was not, however, comfortable with the “mini El Duende” process using paint. I struggled to wrap my head around the directions as after listening to Abbe Miller’s sabbatical presentation, I gathered that one of the most important elements to an el duende is the time between the sessions of making. I struggled then to continue to create while thinking concretely about the process. In retrospect, I enjoy what I made but I would probably have thought a little outside of the directions and used more elements than just paint. In order to calm me and focus on the process, I added symbolic images of comfort such as a bird that symbolizes my partner and water and nature elements that make me feel calm. I love the medium of paint normally for my own personal art-making I just struggled with the directions and the labeling of this as a “mini el duende”. Miller paraphrased in Chilton et al. describes the process of an el duende as “el duende was the artist’s struggle as subconscious material becomes conscious through the transcendent function of art-making,” (2020 p.1). My frustration was apparent in many of the beginning layers of my painting and as I continued to push through, images that were deep in my mind and even my body came to the surface.
While thinking about the population to potentially use this with, I was focused on the layering process, the ability to reflect on what each session ends with and see it as you begin the next. During my first practicum, I worked with older adults, a population not necessarily natural to me. I learned an incredible amount and worked with many different diagnoses from depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, and general neurocognitive decline. I think the process of an el duende could be very beneficial for many of these disorders due to its reflective process, and the ability to orient the client to the art-making process with their own image. People with neurocognitive disorders struggle with attention, executive functioning, learning, and memory, language, perceptual-motor functioning, and social cognition (Grossberg & Fordyce 2015). There is also a spectrum of severity in these disorders as many of them are degenerative in nature and progress in severity over time. What I noticed in working with older adults with these disorders is the need for orientation as well as a grounding line or image on the paper or surface. Depending on the severity of the disorder, the el duende may prove too busy or confusing so this would be case by case, but the process would allow also for a life review, reminiscence minded art-making topic. The el duende can also be a highly sensory experience as well as the process itself giving permission for dual realities as discussed by Abbe Miller in her sabbatical presentation (2017). “the painting itself was always there, it was steady and ongoing…these multiple realities were coexisting throughout the process of artmaking,” (Miller 2017). This grounding of the painting itself while also the ability to reflect, look at what has been made and add yields well to a life review, a reminiscence with the structure of the painting as a grounding object. I love the idea that the container is the individual’s image rather than one created for them. To me, this is symbolically empowering for individuals that often hold so little power at this point in their lives. I believe another benefit to this process would be the documentation element. The images could be used as a record of how someone is progressing, signals of symptoms of their cognition, or ways to see what their interests may be that day or session. It is also a way to connect with the family of these individuals who are often struggling with these diagnoses. Being able to show them the process of the el duende so they can see the continual engagement and image-making may prove connecting and supportive for their relationship with the client.
References
Grossberg, G., & Fordyce, S. (2015, July 08). The DSM-5 and Neurocognitive Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment Options. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://www.psychcongress.com/article/dsm-5-and-neurocognitive-disorder-diagnosis-and-treatment-options
Miller, A. (2017). One Canvas Method in Art Therapy [Scholarly project]. In Youtube. Retrieved 2020, from https://youtu.be/EOSRdek2STI
