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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| An evaluation of a validation therapy group for dementia sufferers | | Author(s) | Tom Barker |
| Journal title | PSIGE Newsletter, no 60, April 1997 |
| Publisher | Psychologists' Special Interest Group in Elderly People - PSIGE, British Psychological Society, April 1997 |
| Pages | pp 34-38 |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Psychiatric treatment ; Evaluation. |
| Annotation | Validation is both a method of communication and an adaptation of a range of established therapies for use with dementia sufferers. A therapy group based on the techniques of a 1992 validation developed by Naomi Fell was conducted at a day centre for dementia sufferers. The group of 6 members met for 8 weekly sessions. In order to evaluate the group, the two group leaders rated group members on a number of dimensions of psychological well-being derived from Kitwood and Bredin's 1994 Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) method of evaluating dementia care. Although the group only met a few times, a number of positive outcomes were observed, including improved ratings of relaxation, emotional expression, and levels of interaction. Feedback from group members suggested that there were two main processes contributing to positive change: facilitation of meaningful communication within the group, and a sense of belonging provided by the group's therapeutic structure (i.e. the consistency of time, place, and people present). It is argued that the group is an example of the kind of psycho-social environment necessary to support optimum functioning and psychological well-being in dementia sufferers. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-981110241 A |
| Classmark | EA: LP: 4C |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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