Therapeutic Groupwork for People with Cognitive Losses

"This is an impressive, advanced and detailed workbook." Caring Times "this is a seminal text. This manual is a must read." Journal of Dementia Care 'This manual is a practical resource for staff working with people with cognitive losses and should also be of value for nursing, social work and occupational therapy students and trainees.' - Information Bulletin 'This is a comprehensive and easy-to-read book...highly recommended...would be useful for anyone about to start groupwork and as revision material.' - British Journal of Occupational Therapy 'The clear, simple layout of this book makes it very readable...certainly be an ideal introductory text for anyone with little previous knowledge and experience in the area.' - Rebecca Pons, Research Assistant, Department of Mental Health Services, University College London, London Centre for Dementia Care 'This groupwork manual should be of interest to many staff who work with people with cognitive losses...plenty of guidance too on evaluating groups and activities...very useful and widely applicable manual.' - Care and Health 'In this age of evidence-based practice this book may be most useful for therapists attempting to convince their superiors that groupwork for individuals with cognitive impairment is valid, indicated and indeed therapeutic.' - Louise Arpin, Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy

Mike Bender is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, in services to older people. His specialist areas of expertise are therapeutic groupwork and developing a psychological understanding of dementia.

288pp, A4, wire-o-bound Part 1: Planning your group - theory and practice; Dementia: what has therapeutic groupwork got to do with it? Understanding the reality of groups; Your inheritance as a groupworker; Becoming a therapeutic groupworker; What is and is not dementia? How does it affect what groupworkers do?; What do the people that you work with want and need? Translating need into action; All along the watchtower: establishing the boundary conditions; Maximising therapeutic benefit by communicating with others; Selecting clients and gaining their informed consent; Recording group activity and process; Evaluation; Part 2 : Into the Group; The first sessions; Energising therapeutic factors; Moving towards agency; The working group: difficult moments, difficult decisions; Silences, tears and laughter; Closing groups; Looking after yourself: problems of being a group leader.