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Frequently Asked Questions
to Noell Hammer, Founder, Art Without Boundaries™, MnemeTherapy™

Why can't I just talk to someone and have them explain it all to

and answer my questions

A: Because we need to know some things about you. Are you patient? Are

you self directed? Do you

complete what you start? Can you

read

? Besides,

there's no operator standing by.

The Art Without

Boundaries Association is

a "virtual" non-profit organization

that means w

e don't have any staff, or an

office

for

that matter. (If you don't count my desk at home)

We do

everything online.

Our mission is to improve the

quality of life for individuals

with Autism,

Alzheimer's disease and other related disorders of the brain by

promoting

MnemeTherapy.™

To accomplish that, we train, certify and

license artists to

become

MnemeTherapists

. (That's why you're here.)

MnemeTherapy

? Never heard of it. It is

a form of

art therapy?

No.

Art Therapy is a

psychological

process and uses

expressive or

creative

art

with the goal of exploring

feelings.

MT is not about feelings or

talking about

the art, it's about the brain and

synaptic development.

Our

goal is provide a

rewarding experience

and we use everyday,

pleasurable

experiences in a

unique

combination

such as singing and

painting,

movements, story telling

and

praise

components

that don't

require

supervision and licensing from the

government.

Instead of exploring

feelings, we try to achieve

whole brain

synchronization and

sustained

attentive

focus.

This

may stimulate

neuroplasticity, or the ability

move

functions and

create

new

neural

pathways.

The word "therapy" comes from the Greek

"therapeia"

meaning "a service,

an attendance" which, in turn, is

related to the Greek verb

"therapeuo"

meaning "I wait upon." Therapy was (and is) a service

for those in

need.

our case, we provide a service to those with

issues pertaining to the brain

Q: How did it get started?

In 2000,

I was

hired as

Executive Director of a small Alzheimer's

Association Chapter

For an upcoming

fund raiser,

I started painting with

Alzheimer's

patients and

"accidentally" discovered a

process

that

produced

dramatic,

immediate

improvements.

When the chapter

territory

was

assigned to a

larger

chapter

the program dropped

and our chapter closed

started

using it as a private

practice and

fter many

requests,

incorporated

AWBF

with the mission

train

artists in

the process

We are now AWBA, a

professional association, opening 20 Affiliated Chapters our first two years.

Q: Why did you call it something unpronounceable?

I'm sure people had trouble

pron

uncing

psych

olog

at first as well. You are

probably familiar with another

word,

Mnemonic

device. A memory help.

MnemeTherapy

™

from

Mnemosyne,

short name

Mneme,

[pronounced

NEMMA

] the Greek

goddess of

memory

and mother of the

nine

Muse.

(

proceed to the next

question, read or listen to Ken's story about his

inverted

vision and c

lick on

is photo

)

I liked

the idea of that

our

process

encompassed her daughters

as well, not only memory

but

the

Greek

attributes

for music, art,

movement,

history and story

telling. Alas, we

neglect

Erato's

erotic poetry and Urania's

astronomy

but...

τέτοια είναι ζωή

(such is life)

So you don't get the wrong idea

e are only using her name

mus

icians

use

use

psych

ologists use

syches

. This

is not a new cult worshipping

a mythological Greek Titan.

With that cleared up...

he following

are some questions

I've received and

you also may have about our

apprenticeship program.

"Since my stroke, I've seen everything upside down. (a
condition known as Inverted Vision) It was difficult trying to
make things out and it affected my balance. Since I
participated in a session of MnemeTherapy in February of
2008, I've started seeing everything right side up and it's
stayed that way."

-Ken, Atlantis Health Care, Lantana, Florida

Below you can hear an interview in April, 2008, with to Ken
about what happened during his first session of
MnemeTherapy™

Documented Testimony