Introducing life story work, a way for people with dementia to connect with their relatives, carers and the professionals working with them. This evidence-based book explains the many benefits of life story work, with practical guidance for introducing it in a variety of settings.
The authors show how life story work can empower people with dementia to inform care practitioners and family members what care and support they may need now and in the future, by taking into account their past and their future wishes and aspirations. The book includes practical information on how to get started, ethical considerations such as consent and confidentiality, and considers issues of diversity and how to address them. The voices of practitioners, researchers and family carers sit alongside those of people living with dementia to present a wide-range of perspectives on life story work.
The authors show how life story work can empower people with dementia to inform care practitioners and family members what care and support they may need now and in the future, by taking into account their past and their future wishes and aspirations. The book includes practical information on how to get started, ethical considerations such as consent and confidentiality, and considers issues of diversity and how to address them. The voices of practitioners, researchers and family carers sit alongside those of people living with dementia to present a wide-range of perspectives on life story work.
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Reviews
Life stories, a strand in psychological therapy with older people and people with dementia, has been unfolding over the past 25 years. This timely book brings the many facets of this work together.
Here is a sparkling treasure trove of a book containing all you might want to know about life story work and dementia. Written with clarity and in an accessible style suitable for lay persons, it also contains all professionals might want to inform their practice and develop services that place the person with their unique life story at the centre.
This book really manages to capture the multi-layered and multi-faceted nature of life story work. It sets life stories within the bigger frameworks of health, psychology, policy, culture change, identity, equality and diversity. We hear about life stories from many people living with dementia, families and professionals covering care at home, care homes, housing, hospitals, end of life, memory assessment services and arts venues. It ranges from the practical to the existential and fizzes with case studies, top tips, and research evidence.
This is a really good and useful contribution. It is full of well-curated information and practical advice, but above all it is full of the humanity of people with dementia and the value of their stories. I thoroughly recommend this book.