Last few spaces for people living with dementia to take part in fun memory-boosting therapy in Tavistock area
“It’s marvellous, helps your memory and it’s fun. It makes you feel alive. I enjoy being connected with everyone. The communication is wonderful” – Di (therapy group member)
People living with dementia are being offered the chance to improve their memory, thinking and communication skills with online Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. The virtual CST sessions are a range of fun and social talking activities for small groups, based on exercises which work the different functions of our brain. Devon Memory Service consultants are backing the project and the growing evidence that CST slows the progress of some of the main challenges of dementia. The therapy is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Home Instead Tavistock and Tamar Valley, Tavistock Dementia Alliance and Tavistock Memory Café have worked together to set up the local sessions in partnership with Memory Matters. Trained facilitators from all three Tavistock organisations will lead the 14 week pilot of 1-hour workshops and will give any technical support needed to connect. Memory Matters is a leading Plymouth-based organisation that promotes positive and therapeutic action and their Devon-wide project is funded by the National Lottery and the Government.
Lynn Roddy from Home Instead commented:
“It’s great to be able to offer this opportunity and we have 10 local people so far who are taking part in these sessions at different times of the week. Home Instead and our local charitable groups devote so much time to supporting people in the Tavistock area to live positively with dementia, so being able to offer these sessions to help improve quality of life is incredibly rewarding. This has been a huge voluntary effort during these challenging times.”
You can watch extracts from one of Memory Matters’ CST sessions here.
There are still a few places left to join the weekly sessions in the Tavistock area. Anyone living with mild to moderate dementia who would like to take part from next week should contact Lynn Roddy lynn.roddy@homeinstead.co.uk or call 01822 258292 as soon as possible.