Potts lectures on Expressive Arts Therapies and Person-centered Care at the University of South Alabama

Cognitive Dynamics President Daniel C. Potts, M.D. was invited by Dean Samuel Strada, PhD. to lecture to medical students at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine as part of its Alumni Lecture Series.  Potts spoke to the group about his experience as an Alzheimer’s caregiver for his father, Lester Potts, and of Lester’s transformation from saw miller to watercolor artist after the diagnosis.  Potts touted the benefits of the expressive arts therapies as a key component of person-centered care.  He showed the students “Painting in Twilight: An Artist’s Escape from Alzheimer’s” , a video produced by UAB about his father’s story.  In additon, he showed a video about validation therapy featuring Naomi Feil and Alzheimer’s patient Gladys Wilson.  Potts spoke of the need to “put humanity back into healthcare”, and to value the opportunites we are given as healthcare professionals to honor those we treat, even if they have progressive, debilitating diseases.  He also spoke of his experiences at the USA College of Medicine, and those persons who shaped and molded his life, both physicians and patients.

Cognitive Dynamics President Daniel C. Potts, M.D. appears with his wife, Ellen and Dean Samuel Strada of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine