Dementia Together: How to Communicate to Connect

by Pati Bielak-Smith

Overview

Winner of two 2021 IBPA Gold Benjamin Franklin Awards for Self Help and for Psychology.

Dementia is an illness that causes no physical pain. But just ask anyone who cares about someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia if their heart isn’t aching. The pain in dementia comes from feeling hopeless, alone, or disconnected from loved ones—but a broken relationship can be healed.

This book is for family members and friends, for spouses, caregivers, and those who simply care. It outlines a path to a life with dementia that includes more life and less illness. With imagination, compassion, empathy, and quiet humor, the real-life stories in Dementia Together show you how to build a healthy dementia relationship.

Because there are ways to communicate that result in greater capacity to receive as well as to provide both warm connection and practical collaboration. Living with dementia gives everyone an opportunity to grow their hearts bigger. This book shows you how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781934336182
Publisher:	PuddleDancer Press
Publication date:	01/01/2020
Series:	Nonviolent Communication Guides
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	479,489
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Pati Bielak-Smith is a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) methods with the international Center for Nonviolent Communication. While studying NVC, she spent five years as a private caregiver for people with dementia. Pati has since trained caregivers and supportive family members to connect to people living with dementia and, as a Dementia Champion with the Alzheimer’s Society, has facilitated dementia information sessions for the community. She has also worked as a meditation teacher and as a communication consultant. Pati is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and offers one-on-one therapy sessions online or in person through her private practice. 

Table of Contents

Foreword Professor Bob Woods ix

Introduction: Growing Connection 1

Part 1 Seeing Relationship

1 Acknowledging What's There 11

2 Focusing Imagination 27

3 Getting Perspective 45

4 Committing to Life 69

Part 2 Tasting for Yourself

5 Cultivating Empathy 87

6 Feeding Inner Power 109

7 Savoring Hurt, Guilt, and Grief 121

Part 3 Listening with Heart

8 Being Curious 139

9 Tuning In to Anger and Confusion 157

10 Asking Questions 171

11 Staying in Touch 185

Endnote: Experiencing Vulnerability 193

Epilogue: Expressing Gratitude Without a Tail 197

Acknowledgments 201

Appendix A Resources for Dementia and Nonviolent Communication 205

Appendix B Dementia-Friendly Empathy 207

References and Recommended Reading 209

Index 217

The Four-Part Nonviolent Communication Process 221

About Nonviolent Communication 222

About PuddleDancer Press 223

About the Center for Nonviolent Communication 224

Trade Books From PuddleDancer Press 225

Trade Booklets From PuddleDancer Press 232

About the Author 234

Editorial Reviews

"Practical and humane, this book is recommended for anyone caring for or about a person with dementia.” —TIM BEANLAND, PhD, Head of Knowledge, Alzheimer’s Society
“A book that acts as a guide in the richest sense: lucid, compassionate, and illuminating.” —NICCI GERRARD, award-winning journalist and author of The Last Ocean: A Journey Through Memory and Forgetting
“A new and fresh perspective on communication and connection. This book offers easy-to-follow steps we can all take to make a difference.” —DANUTA LIPIŃSKA, MA, National Dementia Care Award winner and author of Dementia, Sex and Wellbeing
“Pati Bielak-Smith’s emphasis on relationships and thinking about fulfilling everyone’s needs can help caregivers and professionals develop healthier ways of working together and avoid the distress that can lead to burnout.” —DR. AVRIL DANCZAK, medical educator and lead author of Mapping Uncertainty in Medicine: What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?
“A vitally important and helpful book on an essential topic.” —PETER J. CONRADI, PhD, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and author of Iris Murdoch: A Life

From the Publisher