Description
Book SynopsisThis important book simply but persuasively demonstrates why we should provide the opportunities for people with dementia to experience the great outdoors. It also gives a voice to people with dementia who have felt the benefit of getting closer to nature. The contributors explore many different ways in which people with dementia can experience and interact with nature through pursuits such as farming, gardening and walking, and the book includes a chapter on the therapeutic, life-enhancing effects of activities with animals. The book includes descriptions of projects and initiatives from around the world that have revolutionised the everyday experience of people with dementia, and made a real difference to their quality of life. Illustrated with photographs amply demonstrating the power of nature to lift the spirits and enrich life, the book will be an inspiring guide for relatives, carers and professionals who want to help people with dementia lead a richer life, experience nature fully and enjoy its many accompanying benefits.
Trade ReviewProviding a compelling case for both the need for therapeutic intervention, delivered through the medium of the great outdoors and the need to see the service user as a person first, this text is a timely reminder in these figure focussed times that as therapists we have more to offer than a focus simply on service users daily routines. -- College of Occupational Therapy Specialist Section, Older People Newsletter
Many of us are fearful of dementia and its implications, and these fears are often translated into being overprotective. We can find ourselves de-skilling people who are already losing their abilities - all in the name of keeping them safe. This book challenges the assumptions underpinning this approach, with beautifully written essays from a range of contributors... Everyone involved in the care of individuals with dementia, or with their relatives, will benefit from reading this book. Many of the sections include good references for those who wish to study further ~This is not a textbook as such. Instead, it provides thoughtful inspiration and suggestions. -- Nursing Standards
I found the book an inspiration in terms of current practice that incorporates the natural world into care and therapeutic treatment. By giving voice to first-person narratives of those experiencing dementia to articulate the benefits they experience through contact with the natural world in all its myriad form, as well as contributions from professionals and carers, the book weaves effortlessly between different narrative and perspectives remaining true to a holistic vision of care where the natural world is central. -- Journal of Ageing & Society
Jane Gilliard and Mary Marshall are to be congratulated on plugging a real gap in the literature with this very readable book -- Plus - Christian Council on Ageing
a fascinating book with many good ideas from several countries. Care homes can be such stuffy and unnatural places, unhealthy for mind, body and spirit, but, increasingly, there are homes where the garden and livestock are an everyday, all-season, parts of the place, and essential to the culture of care. None of us can live well or fully without some "fresh air on our faces". -- Caring Times
How can one accept that people with dementia are deprived of the so simple and yet essential pleasures of relating to Nature when the solutions are there, in this rich and inspiring book? -- Marie-Jo Guisset Martinez, Programmes Manager, Foundation Médéric Alzheimer
Table of ContentsIntroduction. Jane Gilliard and Mary Marshall. 1. Dementia, Spirituality and Nature. Malcolm Goldsmith, author of In A Strange Land and Hearing the Voice of People with Dementia and former Research Fellow, Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling, Scotland. 2. Sunlight and Daylight. David McNair, Director of Lighting, Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling, Scotland. 3. Living with Dementia through the Changing Seasons. Neil Mapes, Director of Dementia Adventure CIC, Essex, UK. 4. The Forget Me Not Centre. Linda Hughes, Lead Occupational Therapist, Forget Me Not Centre, Swindon, UK. 5. From Demedicalisation to Renaturalisation: Dementia and Nature in Harmony. Peter Whitehouse, Geriatric Neurologist, The Intergenerational School and Case Western Reserve University, USA, Danny George, Department of Humanities, Penn State College of Medicine, USA, Johanna Wigg, The Vicarage by the Sea, Inc., Maine, USA and Brett Joseph, Environmental Educator and Farmer/Permaculturalist, Center for Ecological Culture, Inc., Ohio, USA. 'A Walking Panacea.' Brian and June Hennell. 6. Farming for Health: Exploring Benefits of Green Care Farms for Dementia Patients. Simone De Bruin, Researcher, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, Simon Oosting, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Marie-José Enders-Slegers, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands and Jos Schols. 7. No Roof but the Sky Above My Head. James McKillop, MBE. 8. Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) for People Living with Dementia. Marcus Fellows, Chief Executive, BCOP, UK and Ann Rainsford. 9. Gardening and Dementia. Members of the Park Club, Age Concern Exeter, UK and Rachael Litherland, Innovations in Dementia, CIC, UK. 10. Allotments. Lorraine Robertson, Alzheimer Scotland. 'Things Aren't What They Used to Be.' Trevor Jarvis. 11. Creativity Outdoors. Claire Craig, Art and Design Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK. 12. The Therapeutic Mountain: The AlzheimUr CENTRE (Murcia, Spain). Halldóra Arnardóttir, PhD Art Historian and Javier Sánchez Merina, Architect, Sarq Architecture Office and Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain. 13. Three Voices. Scottish Dementia Working Group. 14. Arne Naess: A Reflection. Peter Whitehouse, Geriatric Neurologist, The Intergenerational School and Case Western Reserve University, USA. 15. Nature, Spiritual Care and Dementia from an Asian Perspective. Manjit Kaur Nijjar and carers. 'Up and Away' and 'An Eyeshot in Summer.' John Killick, Poet and Writer in Residence for Alzheimer Scotland. Concluding Reflections. Jane Gilliard and Mary Marshall. The Editors. The Contributors. Index.
