[Esthetic training of the elderly--with special reference to the therapeutic effects of pictorial creative activities].

Hitherto programmes of artistic-creative activities with the elderly have meant to a large extent keeping such individuals busy and to aim at a "naive art" in the style of Grandma Moses, characterized by a conformity with stereotypes and practical utilizability. An aesthetic education of the elderly must, however, be guided by the recovery, extension and intensification of communicative fields and the strengthening and stabilization of identity and self-esteem. Emphasis, therefore, must not be placed on the production of a useful item corresponding to market rules but rather on the production process itself, which provides positive experience with material and techniques, strengthens self-confidence, reduces the demand for very good workmanship and enhances self-reliance and self-responsibility. Artistic-creative activities in this sense have a therapeutic effect; they stimulate the ability to communicate and enhance self-esteem. Experience made so far with art therapy with the elderly is discussed, in particular its effects on the treatment of the depressed elderly.