Anyone can be successful!

Design can play an important role in improving the rehabilitation of people with mental health issues and Patternhouse.org demonstrates this.

This innovative research project has been adopted for over five years in the workshops at Casa Basaglia, a psychiatric rehabilitation residential facility in Sinigo (Merano). Thanks to the initiative JOINING PATTERNS: Stitch and leave a mark! at Museion’s Casa Atelier, the workshop is now open to anyone who is interested in experimenting with Patternhouse.org’s shapes and colors.

The idea behind the Patternhouse method is based on an easy-to-understand, clearly structured workflow that trains cognitive skills in a relaxed atmosphere. “Anyone, regardless of their manual skills or previous knowledge, can work independently and creatively at their own level, and, above all, with guaranteed success, which is very important for the healing process,” explains Martina Drechsel, founder of Patternhouse.org. Martina recently interviewed Dr Saskia Rusche, the Senior Scientist of cBRAIN (Child Brain Research and Imaging in Neuroscience) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, headed by Professor Inga Koerte, to talk about creativity, brain mechanics and rehabilitation processes.

Martina Drechsel: The Patternhouse method’s creative rehabilitation process combines different activities, like copying, coloring, decision-making and embroidery. Are any of these individual activities particularly useful from a mental point of view or are greater benefits achieved by combining them?

Saskia Rusche: Each of these activities promotes different skills and brain functions. Copying and coloring strengthen visual and motor skills, while decision-making involves executive functions, like planning and control. Embroidery, on the other hand, stimulates refined motor processes. In rehabilitation, the greatest benefit is often obtained by combining these activities, which stimulate different brain regions and boost creative and cognitive network interaction.

There are other positive aspects too…

Absolutely! Research has shown how important pleasure and social connections are for the neuroplasticity of the brain. Human beings and their brains are designed for social interaction. It is a process that has taken millions of years. When we feel safe and connected, hormones such as oxytocin are released, that tell us: “I am not alone, there are lots of people having an experience similar to mine.” This sense of pleasure and community boosts the brain’s flexibility and learning capacity, as new synapses are formed and weak connections are strengthened. The Patternhouse method exploits this effect specifically by adopting a playful and relaxed approach in which the pleasure of doing something, the social aspect of communal embroidery and mutual feedback play a central role.

As a neuroscientist, how do you define creativity?

In neuroscience, creativity is seen as the ability to make new and useful connections between existing information. The interaction of different brain regions - the so-called brain networks - is fundamental to this. First, there is the Default Mode Network (DMN) or resting state network, which is activated when we are lost in thought, reflecting on something or focusing on our inner life. This state helps us form associations and develop new ideas. The Central Executive Network (CEN), on the other hand, is responsible for the focused control of our thoughts and ensures that our spontaneous ideas are transformed into feasible plans. It is the interaction between these networks that makes creativity possible, because creativity is not only a matter of inspiration, but also of prior knowledge, planning and structure.

What happens in the brain when a person is creative?

When we are creative, the networks must be properly coordinated. The DMN - resting state network - ensures that new ideas are generated and connected. So it acts like a “springboard” for creative ideas. The CEN, Central Executive Network, helps organize and evaluate these ideas, for example, by deciding which embroidery pattern makes sense and how colors can be arranged. A third network, called the Salience Network (SN), controls the transition from free thinking to targeted planning.

Do these processes work in the same way for everyone?

Research has shown that these interactions are often disturbed in people with mental health issues. For example, the DMN resting state condition may be overactive, which leads to brooding and depression. At the same time, the CEN Central Executive Network may lack the degree of control required to organize these thoughts in a meaningful way. An incorrect level of control from the Salience Network can also cause the transition between creative impulses and goal-oriented action to no longer operate smoothly. This shows how important it is for the interaction of these networks to be properly coordinated, not just for our creativity, but our mental health too.

Is it possible to train or improve creativity?

Yes, creativity can be encouraged! Techniques such as brainstorming or mindmapping help us think creatively. The way we deal with our mistakes or failures is also important. Instead of avoiding mistakes, we should see them as learning opportunities. The best ideas often emerge when we think outside the box or try new things. In research, in particular, we often put our trust in a “high risk, high gain” approach where we consciously take high risks to potentially gain groundbreaking insights.

Is creativity different in different age groups?

Young people often think more flexibly and spontaneously, which helps them develop particularly original ideas. The director Orson Welles once claimed it was his ignorance and naivety that gave him the freedom to film whatever he had in his head, whereas more experienced directors would have probably said: “It is not possible, that cannot be filmed.” Older people, on the other hand, have the baggage of their life experience, which can both inhibit and encourage creative processes. Whether young or old, though, the brain remains malleable, that is to say, it can learn and adapt, even in old age. Creativity can be maintained and even developed at any stage of life, we just need to do something to train it!

JOINING PATTERNS: Stitch and leave a mark! is an innovative project created in collaboration with Patternhouse.org and curated by Brita Köhler (Museion’s Head of Public Services - Educational Projects) and Martina Drechsel. The initiative is part of the program that accompanies the exhibition AMONG THE INVISIBLE JOINS Works from the Enea Righi Collection and will take place at Museion’s Casa Atelier from 14 November to 12 December 2024. The event features a series of creative workshops and conferences with experts to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and cultural wellbeing.

Martina Drechsel is the founder and creative director of Patternhouse.org, a research-based design project that aims to redesign the rehabilitation process for people with serious mental health issues. In collaboration with different psychiatrists, she has developed innovative approaches that help people with mental health issues to train or relearn skills through independent creative work. Martina also works as a lecturer in visual thinking and teaches methods of using pen and paper to communicate complex content clearly and graphically, at universities, companies and scientific institutes.

Dr. Saskia Rusche is the Senior Scientist of cBRAIN (Child Brain Research and Imaging in Neuroscience) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, headed by Professor Inga Koerte. Her research focuses on the use of multimodal imaging techniques to investigate the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurological impairments. Together with researchers at the Harvard Medical School, she is currently developing an innovative neurofeedback therapy to modulate and normalize dysfunctional networks in psychiatric and neurological impairments.