All staff, including art / Recreational therapists, nursing, physicians, dieticians, CNA’s, behavioral health and music therapists on the Gero-psychiatric unit of Linden Oaks at Edward Hospital located in Naperville, Illinois received training over a 2 day, 14 hour TTAP Method Certification® in 2011 and again in 2013. The 2 day Training, which has been conducted by Dr. Levine Madori both nationally and internationally since 2006, focuses on the neuroscience discoveries over the past decade regarding cognitive reserve theory and the significant role thematic activities play in the mind, body and spirt of patients at Edward Hospital.
The TTAP Method ®, a multimodal non-pharmaceutical approach uses a thematic expressive arts 12 Step approach that stimulates individuals emotionally, socially, cognitively and physically. This method incorporates a person’s past life experiences through conversation around themes of life, such as holidays, family, love, etc. The most recent data from this study was shown to illustrate how individuals living with depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, and other psychological impairments can gain an enhanced quality of life through the TTAP Methods innovative integration of body relaxation techniques combined with the expressive creative arts including drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry and drama.
The Chief Administration officer Linden Oaks at Edward Hospital, Trish Bendal –Jones and the creator, author and researcher Dr. Levine Madori presented collaborative research from 2010-2011 TTAP Method study at the 2013 American Society on Aging, which resulted in reduced hospital direct healthcare costs on the gero-psych unit by decreasing aggressive behaviors and falls by more than 80 percent. In 2013 the hospital received continued educational funding in which to study the education of staff over a 12 month period from 2013 through 2014. The early results of this study demonstrate a continued correlation to decrease in falls and aggressive behaviors over the last 12 months. Other significant early results from pre-post surveys are showing strong correlations between staff increased feelings of engagement, higher levels of staff contentment, decrease in staff ambivalence and disengagement. Look for full result in early 2015.
