There are 400 different types of dementia, with Alzheimer’s the most common form. App creators (l-r) Amy Boyden and Niamh Murray.ĭementia is a broad term that is used to describe the loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other cognitive abilities that influence daily life. A joint initiative between UCC Law graduates Amy Boyden, a Bantry native, and Niamh Murray the ‘ForgetMeNot’ app was developed after extensive research into reminiscence therapy and testing with some of Ireland’s leadings care associations. despair.A new reminiscence therapy app aimed at aiding communication between people with dementia, their loved ones and caregivers is due to launch in August. In psychologist Erik Erikson’s theory of the developmental stages of life, the final stage, starting about age 65, is characterized by the tension of integrity vs. It enhances feelings of strength and competence.Įngaging in this type of reminiscing can help with the challenges of aging by bringing up coping strategies that may be helpful in the present. It doesn’t downplay the fact that life can have failures, problems, and tragedy, but treats them from the viewpoint of what was done in reaction to bad events. In instrumental reminiscence there is a focus on goals, plans, and methods for overcoming problems. Instrumental: You take the good, you take the bad It is usually a constructive way of looking at the past, in that it looks for meaningful things to pass along.Įngaging in transmissive reminiscing can lead to improvements in feelings of well-being. Transmissive reminiscence is done in the service of passing on values, lessons, and traditions, usually from older to younger generations. It relays biographical information and anecdotes, but doesn’t lead to greater understanding of self or others. Where obsessive and escapist types of reminiscence put a negative or positive interpretation on life events, narrative reminiscence is neutral and straightforwardly descriptive.
It can serve as a coping mechanism for difficult events but is generally unhealthy. It is marked by boasting and exaggeration. Instead of a tendency to dwell on the negative, there is focus on the good old days, and how wonderful they were in comparison to the present. The opposite side of obsessive reminiscence is escapist reminiscence. There is a failure to reframe or restructure the thinking about mistakes or missed opportunities in order to incorporate them into a meaningful view of life, where even the bad has played an important role. Obsessive reminiscence is focused on negative events from the past and feelings of guilt and bitterness. In the 1990s, psychologists Lisa Watt and Paul Wong developed a taxonomy of reminiscing that has been useful in research on how people relate to their life stories.
Quality reminiscing involves some kind of effort at evaluation and finding meaning.
Just remembering and telling stories doesn’t necessarily confer any benefits, and in some cases can even do harm. Training is required to administer these treatments, because not all reminiscing is the same.
0 kommentar(er)
