The Therapeutic Purposes of Reminiscence

Introduction PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE An Introduction to the Purposes The History and Development of Reminiscence-Based Activities The 3Cs - Client, Carer, Context PART TWO: REMINISCENCE WORK THAT HELPS CLIENTS Reminiscence To Encourage Spontaneous Conversation between Clients Reminiscence To Encourage Informal Conversation between Staff and Clients Reminiscence as Fun Reminiscence To Promote Emotional and Social Stimulation Reminiscence To Promote Emotional and Social Stimulation with People Who Are Severely Disorientated Individual Reminiscence Work Reminiscence To Create Group Cohesion Reminiscence To Teach People How to Use Groups Effectively Reminiscence To Re-Use Old Skills or Learn New Ones Reminiscence as Oral History To Maintain or Improve Skills Reminiscence To Aid Intergenerational Communication Reminiscence To Achieve Cultural Legacy Reminiscence and Spirituality Reminiscence in Assessment and Treatment Reminiscence in the Assessment Process Reminiscence as Psychotherapy Reminiscence for Life Review Reminiscence To Aid the Creation of a Positive Identity PART THREE: USES OF REMINISCENCE TO BENEFIT CARERS Reminiscence To Aid Communication between a Person with a Disability and Their Family Reminiscence To Train Staff in Groupwork or To Improve Staff Groupwork Skills PART FOUR: REMINISCENCE AS THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIT Reminiscence To Improve Staff Understanding of the Individual and Reminiscence as the Working Philosophy of the Unit Finishing Time - `People and Listening to People...'

`I was impressed with the accessibility of the book, offering a guided tour through the history, context and purposes of reminiscence therapy, the range of applications from promoting social and emotional stimulation to reminiscence as psychotherapy. It also provides a brief overview of its theoretical underpinnings and a philosophical view of reminiscence as enhancing unit cohesiveness. As a book for health professionals interested in reminiscence work, it is a must for the shelf. It provides a good basis from which to explore other topics and most importantly it emphasizes the need for adequate training and supervision for those undertaking this type of work. I was glad to see importance also given to assessment and the authors provide a very good working guide to the assessment process' - Aging and Health `The text is user-friendly and features many tables and figures which illustrate or summarize important points...this is a most informative and readable book. Although the authors state that reminiscence work should not be limited to elderly people, most of the examples presented concern older adults. Therefore, this publication should be of particular interest to clinicians and students working with elderly people' - British Journal of Occupational Therapy