The New Culture of Therapeutic Activity with Older People

The New Culture of Therapeutic Activity with Older People
Edited by Tessa Perrin, Speechmark
ISBN 0863884423, £25.95

STAR RATING: 5/5

This book provides a perfect companion to Reminiscence and Recall: A Practical Guide to Reminiscence Work which I  recently reviewed (7 September), writes Joy Bounds.

It has knowledgeable contributors and is edited by Tessa Perrin of the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People. Its central message is clear: older  people’s well-being will be sustained if they are supported to engage in the world around them, and if their experience of being treated as a unique human being is maintained.

As Perrin says in her opening chapter, such a concept is about the engagement of the carer with the older person to enable hem to lead a fulfilling lifestyle according o their own definition.

There are three elements within the book.

First, the role of staff, be it the essential commitment of the manager, the work of the activities co-ordinator, or the involvement of every staff member. Second, good advice about the assessment and care planning from which therapeutic activity stems. Third, accounts of projects in residential settings and at home which illustrate some of the difficulties and the benefits of this approach.

Written in clear, jargon-free style, this book is for all care professionals who are concerned about how older people spend their day.

Joy Bounds is a retired social care manager