Finding Meaning in the Experience of Dementia

Elizabeth MacKinlay is a registered nurse and an Anglican priest. She is Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies at St Mark's National Theological Centre, Canberra, and a Professor in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University. Elizabeth was Chair of the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing in 2008 and was the ACT Senior Australian of the Year for 2009. Corinne Trevitt is a registered nurse and Academic Associate Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Corinne has worked in Australia and the United Kingdom and has a background in nursing, research and teaching with an emphasis on issues of ageing. Corinne has published in the areas of spirituality for older adults with dementia and clinical teaching strategies.

• Preface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Building the Evidence for Spiritual Reminiscence: Research and Theory. 1. An Introduction to Spiritual Reminiscence. 2. Current Understandings of Dementia and Implications for Care. 3. Investigating Spiritual Reminiscence. Part II: Listening to Those with Dementia: The Findings. 4. Autonomy and the Older Person with Dementia. 5. Resilience and Transcendence. 6. 'You've Got to Laugh!' 7. Wisdom and Insight. 8. People with Dementia in Multicultural Settings. 9. Hope and Despair Among Those with Dementia. 10. Grief is Part of Life. 11. A Theology of Dementia - Elizabeth MacKinlay. Part III: Practice of Spiritual Reminiscence. 12. Maximising Effective Communication. 13. Making Connections. 14. Ritual, Symbol and Liturgy. 15. Designing a Program for Finding Meaning and People with Dementia. 16. Changing Attitudes and Empowering People with Dementia. Appendix I: Group Topics for Spiritual Reminiscence. Appendix II: Mini Mental State Examination Scores for Participants. References. Index.

Spiritual reminiscence is a way of telling a life story with emphasis on meaning... A total of 113 older adults with dementia, living in aged-care facilities, participated in this study described in this book... the book describes, different views of ageing in our society... By examining concepts of spirituality and transcendence in later life, they explore ageing as a spiritual journey... The research described in the book has demonstrated that interaction in those with dementia are significantly increased following group work in spiritual reminiscence... Providing spiritual care is about tapping into the concept of spirituality; core meaning, deepest life meaning, hope and connectedness...The book is highly recommended for practitioners involved with people who have dementia. This valuable contribution to dementia care provided in this text should be an essential tool for chaplains, care home leaders and all the professionals who need the insights provided here to change attitudes and empower people with dementia.