Lab4Living’s ‘Journeying Through Dementia’ takes to Wales!

After successful pilots in Scotland with Alzheimer Scotland, Fife Health & Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian, Journeying Through Dementia now takes to Llanelli, Wales. The Older Adult Mental Health Service at Prince Philip Hospital are piloting the Lab4Living intervention.

Our ability to engage in and participate in activities we find meaningful is central to wellbeing. Finding ways to continue to engage in and participate in these activities is important for everyone and more so for individuals living with long-term conditions such as dementia. Indeed, Tom Kitwood said that being connected and engaged in valued roles and occupations was at the heart of personhood.

Journeying though dementia is an evidence based programme. It promotes continued engagement in meaningful activity through equipping individuals at an early point of their dementia journey with the knowledge, skills and understanding of ways to continue to do the things they enjoy for as long as possible.

These skills are developed in weekly groups supported by occupational therapists where participants have the opportunity to build understanding, share techniques and experiences and engage in activities to put these into practice. Design research undertaken by Claire Craig and Helen Fisher has led to the development of a facilitation guide and suite of resources to enable interactive sessions.

For more information please contact c.craig @ shu.ac.uk or h.fisher @ shu.ac.uk