Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today (Web PDF) von Pam Schweitzer

This practical guide is designed to give those who care for people with dementia a clear sense of how reminiscence can be used to greatly improve their quality of life. The book explores how reminiscence can contribute to person-centred dementia care and contains detailed descriptions of activities that can be used in a variety of care settings.

Foreword by Faith Gibson, Emeritus professor of Social Work, University of Ulster. Preface by Bob Woods, Professor of Clinical Psychology of Older People, University of Wales Bangor. Introduction. 1.Dementia and Reminiscence: Current Thinking. 2. Reminiscence in Dementia Care. 3. Reminiscence Skills and Methods.4. Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today: A Programme and an Approach. 5. Organising a Reminiscence Project. 6. Training for the Project Team and Family Carers. 7. Reminiscence Sessions: Retracing the Life Course. 8. Final Comments and Future Hopes. Appendix : Useful Documents. References. Index.

Reminiscence is a vital way to stimulate communication and promote confidence and self-worth in people with dementia. This practical guide is designed to give those who care for people with dementia a clear sense of how reminiscence can be used to greatly improve their quality of life.

The book explores how reminiscence can contribute to person-centred dementia care and contains detailed descriptions of activities that can be used in a group setting, for one-to-one reminiscence at home or in a variety of care settings. Based on ideas developed and tested internationally over a period of ten years, the book offers imaginative approaches to reminiscence and a wealth of resources for use in a wide range of situations. The book includes advice on organising a reminiscence project and provides a useful planning tool for group sessions.

Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today highlights the value of reminiscence for those with dementia and is an essential guide to good practice for family and professional carers.

Pam Schweitzer became fascinated by reminiscence and oral history after many years working in Theatre in Education and Educational Drama. In 1983, she founded Age Exchange Theatre Trust, the first full-time professional theatre company to specialise in reminiscence theatre. For the last decade she has been actively developing reminiscence projects for people with dementia and their carers. In 2000, she was awarded an MBE for services to Reminiscence and she continues to direct the European Reminiscence Network, lecturing, directing and training in reminiscence and related fields. Errollyn Bruce is a lecturer in Dementia Studies at the University of Bradford. In 1997, after joining Bradford Dementia Group she met Pam Schweitzer and joined the Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today project as an evaluator. The experience of bringing ideas together from the fields of reminiscence and person-centred dementia care fascinated her and fuelled an enduring interest in working with life histories in dementia care.