Multimedia Art Therapy: The Therapeutic benefits of Projection Mapping and Shadow Play and how these

My journey in exploring the many faces of Digital New Media has come to a very exciting turning point in my research as an art therapist today. I use new media technology in group and individual therapy at the Rawson- Neal psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been a very gratifying experience to observe the positive outcomes when using different digital media applications found in the Ipad . I have especially seen how the use of projection mapping together with shadow play can be beneficial in helping the patients engage with the visuals projected in the wall. This modality seems to keep them immersed in the here and now in an engagement with the self.

I have been working with individuals suffering with schizophrenia for the past three years. This illness takes over the mind in an unpredictable emergence and the reason is still a mystery. Some patients present more psychotic than others yet their experience is very similar. Hallucinations are reality in the mind of the individual experiencing it, affecting their behavior and response to the immediate environment. Individuals with schizophrenia may respond to internal stimuli such as voices and/or visions they can only experience. When offering an external stimuli such as the projection of moving visuals complimented with music can elicit an immersive reaction where drama and movement.