Mental Health Activities for Older People

The Mental Health Activities for Older People includes:

Key Features

• Counselling and Psychotherapy with Older People in Care: A Support Guide - The global population is ageing rapidly yet there is a shortage of skilled professionals able to support the wellbeing of older people in aged care. Older people can be more vulnerable to mental health issues such as loneliness, anxiety, grief, loss, and cognitive changes, and need therapeutic support that addresses their specific needs and conditions.
• Art Therapy with Older Adults: Connected and Empowered - This book outlines a framework for art therapy with older adults rooted in a belief in the autonomy and self-efficacy of older adults, including those with dementia or other diseases of later life. Advocating for a more collaborative approach to art-making, the author presents approaches and directives designed to facilitate community engagement, stimulate intellectual and emotional exploration, and promote a sense of individual and collective empowerment.
• Total Engagement Activities for Growth and Expression in Older Adults - Total Engagement presents activity ideas for encouraging exploration and self-expression in older adults experiencing varying degrees of limitation in mental or physical performance. Its goal is to present engaging activities that respect and celebrate each person's lifelong knowledge and experiences.
• Yoga for Dementia: A Guide for People with Dementia, Their Families and Caregivers - Proven to enhance wellbeing, posture, breathing and sleep, and reduce anxiety and agitation, this programme shows how yoga can be adapted to benefit people with dementia. Based on the findings of a pilot therapeutic yoga programme for people with dementia in care homes, this book offers substantial yoga sequences, breathing exercises, meditations and mindfulness exercises for improving symptoms associated with dementia.

Additional Information

This supportive guide for psychotherapists, counsellors, and other professionals working with older people addresses the growing demand for mental health services for older adults. It covers a range of issues that arise within this demographic including residential living, the referral process, assessment and engagement, and attitudes towards ageing, while contextualising these issues within larger social and political frameworks. The author describes specific interventions such as Narrative Therapy, Reminiscence Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with practical case studies woven in throughout the book.

Relevant to community, assisted living, skilled nursing and dementia-care environments, it includes detailed case studies and ideas for using art therapy to tackle stigma around stroke symptoms and dementia, encourage increased interactions between older adults in care homes, promote resilience, and much more.

It emphasizes the creative arts - dance, drama, music, and visual arts - as a pathway for mental and physical growth, self-discovery, and self-expression. Total Engagement emphasizes that adults need to be engaged with the self, the environment, and with social networks for general well-being. Activity professionals and non-professionals can facilitate these multi-sensory, holistic activities to promote physical, psychosocial, and cognitive well-being in a wide range of older adults who may be struggling with disengagement due to losses from aging.

It offers an innovative Reminiscence Yoga approach, which uses sounds, music, guided imagery and familiar actions to stimulate memories. The book demonstrates the many benefits of yoga for people with dementia, and describes the ways that each yoga exercise can be adapted for people of different abilities. For staff in care homes, day centres, memory clinics, community groups and day hospitals, and family carers.