Deadline: September 15, 2023

Eligibility: In order to be eligible, artists must be age 55 or older and reside in King County.
Submission Guidelines:

All art will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis to fill our 12 available slots. The sooner you submit your work, the better!

Artists can submit one piece to be featured. The submission must be a high-resolution image of an original work (a photo of an original piece or an image file of a digital piece). Calendars will be 11” x 8.5” horizonal layout when printed. To ensure that their artwork is effectively framed, artists can crop their image to be 2550 pixels tall by 3300 pixels wide. If the artwork submitted does not fit this aspect ratio, please be advised that the artwork submitted will be cropped as needed to fit the calendar dimensions before printing. Artists must submit their name as they want it to appear with their work, the work title and media used, and an artist statement (no more than 200 words) to accompany each of their submissions

A final page proof will be shared with all submitters before printing to ensure copy provided for the image is correct.

If you have any questions, please reach out to T Stastny, Marketing & Communications Specialist, at thereses@soundgenerations.org or 206.727.6265

Sound Generations Geriatric Mental Health Workshop series offers educational curriculum that addresses the mental health needs of older adults. There are currently approximately 54 million older adults (ages 65 and beyond) now in the United States, making up 16 % of our population. The Baby Boomer generation, estimated at 73 million, will all be 65 years or older by 2030 and the older adult population is expected to grow to 95 million by 2060. Baby Boomers are predicted to have more mental health issues than previous generations due to their enhanced life expectancy, as will likely be the case for the following generations, as well.

Despite the urgent need, current statistics reveal that there are not enough trained professionals who have the specialized training to adequately understand and serve the mental health needs of older adults. The Geriatric Mental Health workshop series at Sound Generations hopes to help fill this gap in educational opportunities for licensed professionals as well as other service providers who work with older adults.

Sound Generations recognizes that maintaining good mental health is a vital part of the aging process and practitioners and service providers need to keep abreast of trends and treatment in this field. We want to ensure service providers have access to this valuable information for years to come so that strong mental health is prioritized among our aging population.

Our workshops are 3-6 hours in duration and are generally held monthly via Zoom. Currently, we offer licensed mental health professionals Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the geriatric mental health field, approved by the WMHCA. We also welcome anyone who works with older adults professionally to join us to learn from experts in the field of Geriatric Mental Health.

The Geriatric Mental Health Workshop series is designed and managed by Continuing Education Specialist, Alison Laird Craig. Robin Nelson, LICSW, GMHS oversees the program.  Alison can be reached at alisonc@soundgenerations.org if you have questions or would like to teach a workshop.

Previous workshops have focused on Dementia/Delirium- Diagnosis and Treatment, Elder Law, End of Life Conversations, Elder Law and Pharmacology, Caregivers of Older Adults- Conflict and Cooperation, Elder Abuse and Neglect, Crisis Intervention and Prevention , Navigating Systems for Elders and more.

Upcoming Workshops

January 2023

Enriching Dementia Personhood in Older Adults Through Creativity and the Arts with Angel Duncan, PHDc, MA, MFT, ATR – 3 CEUs 

Thursday, January 12, 10am-1pm PDT

Sound Generations Geriatric Mental Health Workshops is pleased to introduce you to Angel Duncan, PHDc, MA, MFT, ATR.  Angel’s research and work is in the neurosciences and focuses on how creativity positively impacts the brains of older adults. This course describes symptoms of normal aging versus dementia, cultural attitudes and perceptions in aging and disease and the impact of health provider education. From diagnosing, research efforts and treatment options in memory and cognitive disorders, a focus on the neurosciences is explored through the arts and humanities. This course provides a learning objective on aging and dementia populations and the inner workings of how creativity enhances the brain-body connection. A review of common misconceptions about identity and conscious awareness in persons living with dementia is discussed with the role of neuroplasticity in mindfulness practice. Through social prescription programs and advancements in medical education and training, stigmas are beginning to shift.  From early to late stage dementia, creativity is exemplified as a best practice in treatment in health and wellbeing. This session aims to alter the perceptions of how persons living with dementia are perceived by societal norms and the need to establish more meaning engagement activities. The importance of why the arts and sciences are needed is demonstrated to enhance quality of life for those living with neurocognitive impairments, and how the arts preserve personhood.

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN ART THERAPY OR THE ARTS NECESSARY

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain an understanding of the basic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease, cultural discrepancies, and the advancements in research and treatments 
• Participants will be able to identify four differences between normal memory and Alzheimer’s disease  
• Participants will learn and understand cultural attitudes and perceptions towards ageism and disease and identify three ways of breaking down barriers 
• Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how the neurosciences and expressive art therapies function in brain-body connection in aging populations and memory disorders  
• Participants will understand neuroplasticity function and its role in mindfulness engagement in neural development  
• Participants will gain deeper knowledge into how creativity compliments neuroscience through research, brain imaging studies, and the need to utilize creativity throughout aging years 
• Participants will learn how social prescriptions enhance health and wellbeing in aging and dementia populations and be able to identity three national community program offerings   
• Participants will gain knowledge in the field of art therapy and how it applies as a holistic treatment in mental health for aging populations and memory disorders   
• Participants will learn three ways how to apply art techniques in individual and group activity sessions for populations living with memory and cognitive disorders 

3 Continuing Education credits for social workers, mental health clinicians and marriage and family counselors.  Case managers and other service providers are also welcome to attend. 

NEW WINTER TIME – 10AM – 1:00PM PDT, Thursday, January 12th, 2023. The workshop begins promptly at 10am, and includes a break. This class will be taught over Zoom. Workshop information and Zoom link will be sent out 1 week beforehand. Please make sure to save the link.

COST – $65.00

If you have questions about our workshops please contact Alison Laird Craig at (206) 727-6226 or via email at alisonc@soundgenerations.org.

Upcoming 2023 Geriatric Mental Health Workshops