Working with Older People books and resources

A Personal Guide to Living with Progressive Memory Loss

Sandy Burgener and Prudence Twigg

'A Personal Guide to Living with Progressive Memory Loss serves as a commitment to inclusive education and is a landmark self-help book that focuses on the needs of the person with the diagnosis. It expands what is currently offered to people with memory loss in a sensitive and contemporary way. A must have for every memory clinic and health and human service agency.'
- Linda L. Buettner, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Alzheimer's Association Early Stage Task Force

The Activity Year Book

A Week by Week Guide for Use in Elderly Day and Residential Care

Anni Bowden and Nancy Lewthwaite

Engagement in meaningful activity is an important aspect of human existence, regardless of one's cognitive abilities. Even in the later stages of dementia, people can still be engaged in activities at a level that allows them to be successful. In fact in these later stages, where cognitive abilities may be waning, the need for activity becomes greater, as cognitive stimulation helps preserve what skills remain.

The Carer's Cosmetic Handbook

Simple Health and Beauty Tips for Older Persons

Sharon Tay

Maintaining a healthy appearance and good hygiene is an important factor in a person's sense of wellbeing. As people age, this does not diminish but the body becomes more sensitive and deserves to be treated in a different way. This practical handbook is specifically designed to assist carers in looking after their clients' appearances as well as their health, providing a wealth of information on health and beauty care for older people.

Throughout the book, Sharon Tay, an experienced beauty therapist, gives detailed and easy to follow instructions on appropriate cosmetic techniques such as manicures, pedicures, herbal remedies, hair removal, skin care and makeup application. These techniques avoid damaging treatments and the overuse of harmful products that often cause unwanted skin, nail and hair problems. Question and answer sections are also included, highlighting some of the common concerns and queries.

Brimming with beauty and health care tips, this book is ideal for carers looking to improve quality of life for their clients and will also be of interest to anyone needing advice on sensitive beauty treatments.

Connecting through Music with People with Dementia

A Guide for Caregivers

Robin Rio

For people suffering with dementia, the world can become a lonely and isolated place. Music has long been a vital instrument in transcending cognitive issues; bringing people together, and allowing a person to live in the moment.

This user-friendly book demonstrates how even simple sounds and movements can engage people with dementia, promoting relaxation and enjoyment. All that's needed to succeed is a love of music, and a desire to gain greater communication and more meaningful interaction with dementia sufferers. Even those who have lost many social and intellectual capabilities will still enjoy connecting with others through voice and rhythm, and be able to involve themselves in musical dialogue.

Suitable for students or entry level professionals in music therapy, nursing, therapeutic recreation and care-related fields, Connecting Through Music with People with Dementia will also appeal to volunteers and family members caring for a person with dementia.

Decision-Making, Personhood and Dementia

Exploring the Interface

Edited by Deborah O'Connor and Barbara Purves

Dementia is a devastating disorder which may dramatically interfere with decision-making abilities. Effort has focused on trying to determine when a person is no longer capable of making particular decisions or is globally incompetent. However, much less focus has been placed on understanding how the capacity to make decisions influences one's view of oneself, one's world and one's treatment by others. This book aims to broaden discussion around this issue by moving beyond a focus on notions of capability and competence to explore the importance of personhood and the underlying complexities of decision-making for those with dementia.

Early Psychosocial Interventions in Dementia

Evidence-Based Practice

Edited by Esme Moniz-Cook and Jill Manthorpe

For the increasing number of people diagnosed with dementia each year, treatment in the early stages can make a significant difference to their quality of life. This book provides examples of psychosocial interventions: taking into consideration the individual, social and environmental aspects of the person's life.

Effective Communication

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

Social care workers in residential or domiciliary settings need to be able to communicate effectively in order to carry out their work.
Supporting people with a variety of difficulties including hearing loss, impaired speech, visual impairment, dementia and physical and learning disabilities requires a range of communication skills, such as listening, sign language, writing notes, and using body language, touch and stimulation. This workbook will provide workers with the ability to enable adults with limited or no verbal communication skills to make decisions, and to express their views in their preferred method of communication.

Good Practice in the Law and Safeguarding Adults

Criminal Justice and Adult Protection

Edited by Jacki Pritchard

Good Practice in the Law and Safeguarding Adults provides an up-to-date summary of developments in the legislative framework and best practice relevant to the area of adult protection work.
It explains legislation that can be used in adult protection work, covering criminal and civil law, and crucial national guidance such as Achieving Best Evidence. Issues covered include confidentiality and information-sharing in adult protection work, capacity issues, police investigations, financial abuse, advocacy, witness support and honour-based violence. The book is illustrated throughout with case studies and good practice points.

How to Make Your Care Home Fun

Simple Activities for People of All Abilities

Kenneth Agar

As we grow older, our need to be engaged in interesting activities does not diminish and is vital to our quality of life. How to Make Your Care Home Fun examines the need for activities for elderly people in care and offers a practical programme of entertaining activities that can be used in nursing and residential homes, day centres, rehabilitation centres and hospices.

Losing Clive to Younger Onset Dementia

One Family's Story

Helen Beaumont

Clive Beaumont was diagnosed with Younger Onset Dementia at age 45, when his children were aged just 3 and 4. He had become less and less able to do his job properly and had been made redundant from the Army the year before.

Person-Centred Counselling for People with Dementia

Making Sense of Self

Danuta Lipinska

Although currently many people with dementia are not given the opportunity to receive professional counselling, this book explores the value of counselling for men and women living with this condition and how it enables them to make sense of their lives and their notions of themselves. The author explores the pervasive myth that all experiences of living with dementia are entirely negative and shows counsellors and carers how a person-centred counselling experience can have positive outcomes for those with dementia and the people who care for them.

Reflecting On and Developing Your Practice

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

Working in residential or domiciliary settings involves a continuing process of learning. Every day, social care workers face challenges that force them to think about what they do and how they do it - whether it be an ethical dilemma, the introduction of a new policy or procedure or training on a specific subject.

Safeguarding Adults

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

Working in residential or domiciliary settings involves a responsibility to safeguard adults from harm and abuse. This workbook will provide staff and relatives with the ability to make sensible choices concerning prevention and protection, as well as responding to and reporting concerns.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and the Law

Michael Mandelstam

The protection of vulnerable adults is a fast emerging area of work for local authorities, the NHS and other agencies. Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and the Law, sets this within a comprehensive legal framework. The relevant law and guidance is extensive. It includes Department of Health guidance (No Secrets), human rights, the regulation of health and social care providers, the barring of carers from working with vulnerable adults, care standards tribunal cases, mental capacity, undue influence, assault, battery, wilful neglect, ill treatment, manslaughter, murder, theft, fraud, sexual offences, data protection and the sharing of information.

The book focuses on how these areas of law apply to vulnerable adults, and brings together an extensive body of case law to illustrate this. Also covered is how local authorities and the NHS may themselves be implicated in the harm - through abuse, neglect or omission - suffered by vulnerable adults. For example, in terms of the gross lapses in standards of care, infection control, nutrition and basic dignity sometimes to be found in hospitals.

All those working in community care, adult social work, health care and housing will find this book invaluable. Local authorities, the NHS, voluntary organisations and students will find this to be essential reading.

Speaking of Dying

A Practical Guide to Using Counselling Skills in Palliative Care

Louis Heyse-Moore

Good counselling skills are often not taught to the professionals who need them most. Compassionate and tactful communication skills can make the difference between an awkward encounter with a dying patient, and an engaging, empathic bond between two people.

Understanding Care Homes

A Research and Development Perspective

Edited by Katherine Froggatt, Sue Davies and Julienne Meyer

Improving the quality of life for older adults living in long term care settings is recognised as an increasingly important issue.
Understanding Care Homes draws together a range of research and development initiatives that emphasise the importance of partnership working, and of enabling older people and their families to maintain the highest quality of life. The book is divided into three sections, each investigating how research and development can be undertaken to provide better care for the individual resident and their family, to enhance care at the organisational level and to develop the care home's relationships within the wider community. By addressing the concerns of residents and their families as well as those of carers and home managers, this book identifies how the generation of new knowledge through research can bring about real changes in care provision.

Enriched Care Planning for People with Dementia

A Good Practice Guide to Delivering Person-Centred Care

Hazel May, Paul Edwards and Dawn Brooker

The correlation between `disengagement' and illness in people with dementia living in long-term care settings is becoming more widely recognised, and developing and adapting front-line staff responses to the changing needs of individuals is a crucial factor in addressing this problem.

Exploring the Self through Photography

Activities for Use in Group Work

Claire Craig

Photography shows us how to look at things from different perspectives, to reflect, to communicate and to express ourselves in a way that goes beyond words. The creative and introspective qualities of this accessible arts medium make it an ideal tool for use in therapeutic contexts.

Health and Safety

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

Those working in residential or domiciliary settings have a responsibility to maintain a clean, safe and secure work environment.
Health and Safety provides guidance on the responsibilities and risk assessments involved, covering subjects such as first aid, safety in the kitchen, infection...

Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma

Christiane Sanderson

Victims of sexual and physical trauma can feel lost and disconnected from themselves and others. Christiane Sanderson's new book explains how counsellors can restore connection to self and others, and facilitate recovery within a safe and supportive therapeutic relationship.

Talking With Bereaved People

An Approach for Structured and Sensitive Communication

Dodie Graves

It can be hard to know what to talk about with a bereaved person over a period of time once you have offered your condolences. This book shows how, by using good active listening skills, empathic exploration and a willingness to talk about the hard issues, you can embark on a process of...

Telling Tales About Dementia

Experiences of Caring

Edited by Lucy Whitman

How does it feel when someone you love develops dementia? How do you cope with the shock, the stress and the grief? Can you be sure that you and your family will receive the support you need?
In Telling Tales About Dementia, thirty carers from different backgrounds and in different...