Reminiscence Activities
Reminiscence activities focus on the history of ordinary people and really value their experience.
Reminiscence Activities
Person-focussed and relationship-centred care benefits everyone and reminiscence activities and conversation should sit at the heart of this.
"Reminiscing celebrates the richness of life experience, allowing in the process and the voice of the person to be communicated, however it is expressed". (Journal of Dementia Care 2001)
Many older care home residents may only be able to give their carers a small piece of themselves - all there is for them, at that moment. That fragment is to be treasured, for it may become a strand or thread that also becomes part of carers' lives as well and may, like a tapestry, gradually be woven together to create something new and vibrant.
Reminiscence through conversation and reminiscence activities provides immense pleasure and interest for older people, and makes a valuable contribution to the knowledge of carers. By placing emphasis on a person's identity and unique experiences, the relationship between carer and cared-for can be significantly improved by creating greater relevance and connectedness. Insight into a person's history and life stories makes caring for them more meaningful and satisfying.
Even when reminiscence activities and conversation take place in a group, the exchange between people and comparing of experiences enriches the lives of those who live together, but often oddly separate – and can encourage a greater sense of community among them.
Research into the value to families and friends of reminiscence activities and conversation also demonstrates the real value of connecting with people from differing generations not only in terms of learning about the past but also improving the relationships between the family and friends, the older person and their carers. To discover something of interest about a family member's past also brings benefits to the family themselves. And links between the person's past experience and present behaviour can be revealed in ways that helps to assure that their care is most appropriate.
For those who have grown up in another country or culture, whether old or young, carer or cared-for, reminiscence activities and conversation provide a passport to closer understanding by acknowledging and valuing people's differing experiences in a way that no other activities do.
Here are some extracts from Sarah Housden’s seminal book ‘Reminiscence and Lifelong Learning’ published by NIACE in 2007:
"Over the past few years, much has been written and spoken about demographic changes leading to an increasingly ageing population. The value of oral history lies in the fact that it moves the focus of history from powerful to ordinary people. Instead of an essentially political history, concerned with power-struggles between a few high-ranking figures, and generally being written from the point of view of those who came out on top, oral history opens up new areas of inquiry, looking at what was important to individuals and groups not normally represented in historical accounts, and using the voices of ordinary people without demanding that they have any qualifications other than that they were there and experienced the things of which they speak. Thus the barriers between historians and those they write about are broken down, as well as social barriers, and barriers between generations.
Oral history also widens the scope of history to include emotions and feelings. This enlarges and enriches the scope of historical writing, enabling the reader to become imaginatively involved in what it was like to be there and to live through particular events of the past. It allows the historian to look at things from a number of differing points of view, reflecting the fact that reality is complex and many-sided. It therefore provides a more fully rounded, realistic and fair reconstruction of the past which can be a challenge to the established account. A voice is given to the defeated as well as to the victorious, making oral history essentially more democratic and bringing recognition to groups who have previously been ignored. It is becoming clear that the memories of older people today have an important role in constructing accounts of historically significant events as well as conveying aspects of everyday life which can contribute to an understanding of social history.
Reminiscence
Reminiscence has come to be seen as a beneficial and potentially therapeutic activity for people of all ages (Bender et al, 1999). ...at this point it is important to note that some of the benefits of reminiscence derive from its similarity to oral history and lifelong learning, in that it values the experience of the individual
Until the 1960s talking about the past was considered to be a sign of withdrawal, degeneration and deterioration in an older person and so was discouraged in health and social care settings. Instead, much emphasis was put on maintaining older people’s orientation to present realities, possibly to the detriment of their psychological well-being as they were dissuaded from talking about things which had been important to them throughout their lives. This view began to change in 1963 when Robert Butler published an article on reminiscence and life review pointing out some potential benefits to older people of remembering the past. From that point on, the views of health and social care professionals took a gradual about-turn, until reminiscence was seen as a ‘therapy’ in the 1980s. Subsequent opinion has taken a step back from this, stating that although reminiscence can have ‘therapeutic effects’, it is not a ‘therapy’ as it is not a proven treatment for a particular medical condition (Gibson, 1998: 15).
In the 1980s reminiscence became popular in day centres and residential homes for older people with the publication of Help the Aged’s ‘Recall’ series. Slides were shown together with commentaries on how life used to be, stirring up the memories of older people and stimulating discussion around their own memories, thus enhancing interaction an d activity levels (Bornat, 2002b: 2). It is from this movement that the current interest in and practice of reminiscence has drawn inspiration. Reminiscence today consists of a range of social and creative activities undertaken mainly in small groups with the purpose of enhancing the wellbeing of older learners. The exact nature of how it is undertaken will become clear in subsequent chapters, together with the fact that at the heart of reminiscence activities is the high value placed on individual learners’ memories.
Reminiscence is a useful activity in ‘the development of human potential’ because it recognises the value of every contribution a learner makes to the group. Older people living in residential homes often feel that they have reached the end of any useful purpose in their lives – a feeling which is not entirely unjustified given the lack of meaningful activities and purposeful roles available to them. Sitting around all day doing nothing can only have a detrimental effect on people’s physical, mental and spiritual health. Apathy sets in, taking away the motivation to do something for themselves to make life more fulfilling. Reminiscence provides a way of moving people away from this inactivity, enabling them to discover that they still have the potential to make a valuable contribution within their current environment.
Inactivity leads to the deterioration of human potential. An activity like reminiscence can lead to its growth and development. It is a particularly useful activity with those who have been inactive and need a boost to their confidence. Participation can be progressively graded, so that individuals, who begin by looking at and thinking about items of memorabilia, can move on to making a written or pictorial account of their memories./p>
Reminiscence can be ‘supportive’ in that it gives individuals the opportunity to review their personal histories and tackle any unresolved issues from the past. The learning that takes place through this process leaves individuals in a stronger place to deal with current difficulties. This is clearly a lifelong process, and for many people it can be made easier by having the support of a reminiscence group. Support comes from other learners through their listening and through the telling of their own stories as participants gain insight from each other. Having said this, it should be noted that reminiscence is not a form of psychotherapy, and there are limitations to the sort of problems that can be tackled in this way. Reminiscence is also a supportive process in that it does not put pressure on individuals to perform beyond their level of confidence and competence. By listening carefully to the contributions of each learner, the tutor indicates the value of what they are saying and encourages them to go on taking part.
Older people often feel incapacitated in the modern world through their lack of knowledge of such things as computer technologies. The wisdom they have acquired through years of experience can seem inferior to knowledge about fast moving computers, and one role that reminiscence can have is to reaffirm the importance of such hard-earned wisdom. Through discussion about working life and such things as traditional handicrafts, recognition is given to the skilled craftsmanship practised throughout their lives. At the same time, reminiscence can be used to enable people to develop new skills.
Many people come to reminiscence groups with very little confidence in their ability to contribute anything, often saying that they just can’t remember anything. Older people with cognitive impairments tend to be exposed to a whole battery of ‘memory tests’ by doctors and psychologists. The effect of this is to emphasise that they are losing their memories, and the low self-esteem and depression this can cause can contribute to the general picture of cognitive decline. Reminiscence puts the emphasis in a completely different place by concentrating on what people do remember. This can be a tremendous boost to self-confidence and contributes to the overall enjoyment of the activity. Reminiscence recognises the fact that there are different forms of remembering. While someone may not be able to answer direct questions, they often find that their memories come flooding back when they are exposed to memorabilia and other sensory stimuli.
Firstly, while it is clear that reminiscence can be a useful learning experience in many ways, it is also true that not everybody enjoys it. In fact, some people find it detrimental to their emotional well-being, sometimes because they have traumatic memories which they have not dealt with. Another difficulty is that for reminiscence to be as beneficial as possible, it does need to take place over a long period of time.
One key factor making reminiscence relevant to people of all abilities, and for the entire lifespan, is that it ranges from very simple activities to the more complex. It therefore has a very significant place in providing learning opportunities throughout life.
Again, by valuing people’s memories, life experiences can take on new levels of meaning and significance, both in the individual’s and the listener’s eyes, as well as within the wider community.
Person-centred care in dementia
The person-centred approach has been applied in counselling and care settings as well as to education, and is of significance in our consideration of the place of memories in lifelong learning.
Tom Kitwood (e.g. 1997) has advocated the importance of seeing people with dementia as people first. Having dementia is of secondary importance to the way we see individuals, and while it is important to consider the special needs which arise because of the condition, it does not define them as people. Most people with dementia will have significant memory problems, beginning with loss of short-term memory. Memories of the more distant past may stay intact for years after short-term memory begins to deteriorate. Listening to, working with and recording what a person has to say about their life experiences is an essential way of demonstrating their value as a person – both to them and to those around them. By including people with dementia in reminiscence groups, emphasis is placed on what they can still achieve and take part in, rather than on the skills they have lost. This also demonstrates that participation in learning can truly be ‘lifelong’ and needn’t stop at the point of deterioration of cognitive abilities."
