Mindful Journeying for People Living With Dementia

Expressive Arts, Music Care & Mindfulness to Foster Engagement

Implementing Interactive Learning strategies to help engage the minds of people living with dementia does take patience and understanding. Our Dementia Care Trained Caregivers aware of the importance of meeting their clients where they are at in every given moment. “Mindfulness” according to Dictionary.com is the state or quality of being mindful or aware of something.  We use a variety of techniques which help our clients to focus their full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judging them: We believe this mindful approach can reduce stress that are person living with dementia could naturally be feeling. 

We have learned that to “go with the flow” is the most effective approach to care for, or support someone who is living in their moment by means of dementia. Trying to correct them is never going to make things better, as they have limited ability to reason.

Harmony Caregiving’s Mindful Activities are the way to improve a persons quality of life as they live each day moving through life with dementia.

Using Creativity to Inspire Happiness

• Music Care – Music Care allows music and sound to transform the caring practices and can have a positive effect on the person’s mood, behaviour both in their own home environment as well as in facilities or in hospice settings.

• Art Journeying – Art Journeying is exploring art with clients who are living with dementia. For a person living with dementia creating or viewing art can be a critical means of communication and personal expression, giving the caregiver or family a tool to better understand the person.

• Brain Gym for Focus – Brain Gym involves easy body movements designed to coax the right and left sides of the brain to work in harmony. When our brain become balanced,  the whole body will respond, revitalizing our natural healing abilities, in order to restore health and happiness.

• Certified Hypnotherapy Dementia Specialization – Hypnosis is a state of mind characterized by focused attention and heightened suggestibility. The individual can remain fully aware and able to carry out conversation with the hypnotherapist. For people living with Dementia/Alzheimer’s, it can improve the quality of life of in 7 key areas. Those being concentration, relaxation, motivation, participation in daily activities, short and long term memory, and socialization.

• Sensory Activities – Sensory activities have been known to improve both the emotional and physical health of people living with dementia. As the sensory functions of elders decline as they grow older, sensory activities help to strengthen their senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch).

• Physiotherapy – Physiotherapy is a holistic approach to healthcare, using physical therapy to help maximize the ability to move and function. For the elderly, physiotherapy can help to reduce the impact that ageing has on the body and their lives.

• Acupuncture – Acupuncture treats aging-related pain through an analgesic and antidepressant effect resulting from increasing endorphin, encephalin, serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain.

• Aromatherapy – Aromatherapy is the practice of using the natural oils extracted from plants to enhance psychological and physical well-being. The inhaled aroma from these “essential” oils is widely believed to stimulate brain function. Essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin, then travelling through the bloodstream and promote whole-body healing.

• Laughter Yoga – Laughter yoga (Hasyayoga) is a practice involving prolonged voluntary laughter. It is believed that voluntary laughter provides the same physiological and psychological benefits of spontaneous laughter. Laughter yoga is done in groups, with eye contact and playfulness between participants. Forced laughter often turns into real and contagious laughter

• Depression & Anxiety Management – Aside from Medical Intervention, lifestyle changes can also bring powerful relief. Staying connected with others through companionship is an essential part of depression treatment. Regular exercise is another powerful antidepressant as it can be as effective as medication. Therapy can also be a useful tool in teaching lasting skills to help fight depression.

• Drumming with Dementia – Is rhythmic activities and therapeutic drumming circles are among the most effective tools for creating a communal experience among seniors with dementia. Rhythm and music strongly predicated on a rhythmic beat allows them to respond to one another, with a feeling of competence “in the moment” and often with joy.

• Connecting with Computer Companions – Social isolation is often the result of retirement, loss of a spouse, children living far away, moving to a retirement community or becoming homebound due to age-related illnesses. Technology Can Help Foster Independence & Connectedness by connecting a person to family and friends, hobbies and music via social media websites and picture and music sharing.

• End of Life Consulting – End of life coaching helps families and the person who is dying to come to terms with death, so that the death can be acknowledged and handled in a healthy way.