New Culture of Therapeutic Activity with Older People

Tessa Perrin is an occupational therapist, trainer and consultant with many years' experience in the care of older people and people with dementia. She is Director of Essex Dementia Care, a domiciliary care agency and training resource for people who live and/or work with dementia, and the author of numerous books and publications on the use of occupation as therapy.

• Once viewed as entertainment, activity provision is increasingly being seen as of therapeutic value and an integral part of quality care practice. This change has been so rapid and far-reaching that many staff teams have been left behind, attempting to address new culture requirements with old culture knowledge. This book clarifies and illuminates the changes that have been taking place in the field of activity provision over recent years, and offers a guideline to those who are endeavouring to catch up.Contents include: The difference between old culture and new culture thinking and practice The new culture from the perspective of: The politician The manager The care assistant The activity provider The researcher The trainer The community worker The activity charity.Between them, the contributors bring a breadth of experience of the changing culture that spans more than three decades. This is a vital resource for all staff and management of care settings for older people.

" a timely and valuable contribution to both the promotion of therapeutic activity with older people and the need to articulate the role and value of activity practitioners. Each chapter contributes to the weaving of a tapestry that successfully integrates vision, theory and practice. Managers and practitioners alike who wish to invest in the meaningful provision of activities will benefit from their own investment of time in reading this book. I warmly recommend this book to all people engaged in the delivery of quality care settings for older people." - From the Foreword by Graham Stokes "provides a thorough overview of the issues, challenges, improvements made and changes still to be addressed...very readable...the book provides a balanced overview of the challenges to different people involved in caring for older people...would be a useful resource for occupational therapists and other team members." Jenny Reid, OTOP Newsletter "The Strength of this book is that it presents a very real picture of the challenges, potential solutions and benefits by meaningful activity...valuable for all those working with older people...has been recognised as being excellent by the British Medical Association should be sufficient." Dr Gail Mountain, Director of the Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, The British Journal of Occupational Therapy "There are some excellent chapters, both practical and theoretical, and I would recommend all homes to buy - and read, and use! [this book]." - Caring Times Won first prize in the Health Centre of the Elderly category of the 2005 British Medical Association Medical Book Competition "This book looks at changes in the field of activity provision in recent years, especially in care home settings, and in particular the development of therapeutic activity provision that can contribute to care practice." - Information Bulletin "At last, here is a well-researched and up to date book...a 'must have' book for any professional." - Adrian Ashurst, Consultant Editor NRC, Nursing and Residential Care "This is a rich and thought-provoking publication." - CareandHealth "It places in the context of principles and good practice, resonating with the need to be person-centred in all activity provided." - Ageing Matter in Ireland "This book is a valuable contribution to the debate about the quality of life in care settings for older people." - Update