Practising to remember and remembering to practise: Reminiscence and Montessori principles in dementia care
The challenges of dealing with complex issues surrounding dementia care are universal however with person-centred care the foundation of current care models, the quality of life for those people with dementia has been greatly improved (Roberts et al, 2015). The key to quality of life for dementia patients is engagement in the present, pleasure and self-worth. To that end, both reminiscence therapy and Montessori principles are being incorporated into dementia care models, however this is with varying degrees of success.
Reminiscence is defined by Dempsey et al. (2014), after much research and comparison of other’s work, as “…the deliberate …show more content…
A sense of happiness and pleasure, general improvement in BPSD and less stress for staff was present, but very little evidence for reducing depression or improving cognition was found (O’Shea et al., 2014). The overall result of the study for O’Shea et al was positive, and this is reinforced by Cooney et al. however it should be noted that the majority of contributors in these papers are the same group of cohorts. Westerhof et al. (2010) shows that only some reminiscence interventions are effective and only some of the time in a dementia setting. Westerhof also states that not all reminiscence is healthy, and that the opportunity to dwell on the past and form negative memories or obsessions is a potential …show more content…
Staff satisfaction is also said to be increased. This could be possible if residents are happier and more engaged as they are according to Camp (2010). The sense of achievement gained by residents when they master a skill or spend time engaged with staff and other residents may reduce BPSD and create a healthier environment.
Employing Montessori techniques, or creating a Montessori environments, as MASSA (2017) describes it, would not be an inexpensive endeavor. Training staff in the techniques and having space and staff availability to set up activities would be outside of the reach of many aged care facilities, although certainly adult day care centres may benefit greatly from this
The challenges of dealing with complex issues surrounding dementia care are universal however with person-centred care the foundation of current care models, the quality of life for those people with dementia has been greatly improved (Roberts et al, 2015). The key to quality of life for dementia patients is engagement in the present, pleasure and self-worth. To that end, both reminiscence therapy and Montessori principles are being incorporated into dementia care models, however this is with varying degrees of success.
Reminiscence is defined by Dempsey et al. (2014), after much research and comparison of other’s work, as “…the deliberate …show more content…
A sense of happiness and pleasure, general improvement in BPSD and less stress for staff was present, but very little evidence for reducing depression or improving cognition was found (O’Shea et al., 2014). The overall result of the study for O’Shea et al was positive, and this is reinforced by Cooney et al. however it should be noted that the majority of contributors in these papers are the same group of cohorts. Westerhof et al. (2010) shows that only some reminiscence interventions are effective and only some of the time in a dementia setting. Westerhof also states that not all reminiscence is healthy, and that the opportunity to dwell on the past and form negative memories or obsessions is a potential …show more content…
Staff satisfaction is also said to be increased. This could be possible if residents are happier and more engaged as they are according to Camp (2010). The sense of achievement gained by residents when they master a skill or spend time engaged with staff and other residents may reduce BPSD and create a healthier environment.
Employing Montessori techniques, or creating a Montessori environments, as MASSA (2017) describes it, would not be an inexpensive endeavor. Training staff in the techniques and having space and staff availability to set up activities would be outside of the reach of many aged care facilities, although certainly adult day care centres may benefit greatly from this