Fashion Therapy For Mental Patients

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29401, 31 December 1960, Page 2

Fashion Therapy For Mental Patients

Something revolutionary in the field of psychiatric medicine are the fashion parades being staged for patients in the Napa State Hospital of California. The idea of presenting these shows frequently, to boost the morale of mentally-ill patients, was conceived several months ago when San Francisco’s Fashion Group staged a full-scale fashion display for a selected number of Napa patients.

The Object of these showings is to recreate the patient’s desire to look her best and thus to stimulate a renewed interest in her surroundings. The scheme was initiated by the assistant executive-director of the San Francisco Mental Health Association (Hazel Holly). She explained that hospital authorities had found the presence of a beauty parlour on hospital premises boosted the patients’ morale. The staging of fashion parades was simply going a step further, she added. Experts

All the experts involved in the scheme including fashion designers, artists, beauticians, and models, volunteer their services, and San Francisco stores give fabrics, patterns, cosmetics and costume jewellery. In this latest venture, 40 patients were divided into two equal groups which met the fashion experts on three successive Fridays. The first meeting included personal fashion analysis—each patient was told what would suit her best, how her clothes should be cut and what colours and styles she should avoid. The next two sessions included discussions about foundation garments and poise, and instruction in make-up, hair-styling and exercise. Fashion sketches were drawn for each patient. With this background of instruction, patients were then given two weeks to style and make their own dresses from accessories and fabrics which were handed to them. They were assisted in the fitting and sewing by hospital attendants. Fashion Show At the end of the two weeks’ period came the fashion show, held in the Napa Hospital audi-

torium. Of the 40 patients attending the classes, 23 had finished their dresses on time and took part in the show. Four others finished on time but were too agitated to participate. Of the patients selected for fashion therapy, one third were acute cases. The rest were chronic patients, some of whom had been in hospital for 15 years. One of the latter, who had not said more than “Yes” and “No” for three years, talked at length with the fashion experts and showed remarkable improvement, according to hospital authorities. The fashion therapy is being continued at the Napa Hospital and will be applied to an increasing number of patients. Throughout the United States, other hospitals have expressed interest in the scheme and, according to Hazel Holly, they are being supplied with details and results of the project as they are evaluated and •compiled. The Napa authorities are very enthusiastic over their success to date. They say 80 per cent, of the participants have shown improvement generally; 83 per cent, have shown improvement in their personal appearance. The patients themselves said they all looked better.—(From the New Zealand Draper and Allied Retailer).