Working with memories sales letter
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Attention: All those working with in reminiscence, memory and life
story work
"Does life story work really make any difference to how we feel
about ourselves and others?"
RE: ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR DOING MEMORY WORK.
From the desk of: Geraldine Jozefiak
The Craft Teacher
Life story work really can help others through life experiences
and challenges.
Yet why is it that some life story sessions work better than
others, despite all your
efforts?
IF YOU WERE TO TELL ME THE MOST DIFFICULT PROBLEM FACING YOU in
your work, which
of the following would you choose?
* I'm new to running memory sessions and grateful for some ideas
on things that work, written by someone who's done it
* As a practised reminiscence worker I've made story books before
but am
always interested in new ideas and ways of working
* I want to run a project at school and need some practical
background material
to help me plan some activities * I'm looking for information about
working with memories and some craft projects that are easy to follow
* I've never done a project like this before and I don't know
where to start
* I run reminiscence sessions, and I need ideas on what to do with
all the shared stories
* I want to create some books with one of my groups and I'm not
creative
I'm sure there will be others too. Finding solutions isn't always
easy.
There are many reminiscence books, magazines and activity packs
that might just
work. But ...
where do you find practical life story project ideas together
with suggestions on how to encourage
sharing, note taking and creativity?
SOMETIMES YOU FIND ALL THESE THINGS, BUT IS IT IN DOWN-TO-EARTH
LANGUAGE and
in a book that won't close-up when you put it down? And is it set in
a tiny,
too small to read 'font'?
What you need in challenging moments is knowing that you can easily
READ THE MATERIAL without the aid of a magnifying glass!
Let me tell you how I came to be involved in memory work.
Over the course of a year, I trained volunteers in Life Story Work.
Following their
training, the volunteers were placed with families who cared for a
dementia sufferer
in their own home.
It was a new and exciting project; the first of its kind in England
at the time (1999).
Based in Norwich, Norfolk, UK it was called The Pabulum Project,
(latin: mental
nourishment). The project gave me first hand experience of
volunteers, training,
dementia and life story work.
It encouraged me to find ways to help sometimes uncreative people
to work
towards something unique that could be shared by others.
Note: (The Project's story was written up for my Bachelor of Arts
dissertation that followed, gaining
me a 1st Class Honours degree in Post Compulsory Education).
The project offered reminiscence training in creative memory work
It was hoped
that this knowledge would help volunteers to work with the dementia
sufferers to
encourage the sharing of memories.
These stories were then, in agreement, re-created in words,
sentences, pictures,
paper and pen. They were then made into a variety of books,
loose-leaf papers,
portfolios and albums. The choice of materials used was left to
individuals.
The craft workshops that were an important part of the training and
gave the
volunteers some ideas in how to make a book for those they worked
with. Some
had no experience, or interest in creative activities yet were happy
to help
individuals and families to put their stories onto paper.
As Dementia generally has a 7 year lifespan, it is likely that some
of this period may
well be spent in care, and amongst unfamiliar people.
The purpose of the project was to help our volunteers to work with
those with dementia to commit shared stories to paper,
whilst memories could still be verbally shared
The life story approaches that became the Pabulum Project helped us
to:
* Reduce the need for medication
* Raise interest in surroundings
* Keep individuals more alert and interested
* Provide a talking point
* Help family members to get closer to loved ones
* Recreate often lost memories for wider appreciation
* Turn difficult 'remembering/talking' into a visual experience
* Cut down the stress on continued remembering
* Enable others to share stories and experiences
* Provide a visual trigger for further reminiscence work
It was obvious that the project had wider value
and the challenge was to create a book that
would help others to get similar results.
As the Creative Activity Trainer with the programme I decided to
turn this knowledge
and experience into an A4 book - \" WORKING WITH MEMORIES\" . Based
on our
successful practices, the book contains the following sections:
* Notes
* The visual part
* Creative writing
* Practical projects
* Album ideas
Click here for a list.
Background information on why to do memory work is a
valuable part of the book.
It's important that we understand something of the background to
memory work
before trying to encourage the sharing of stories. There's a useful
introduction
on the at the beginning that ''sets the scene' for your future work.
Imagine having practical ideas on how to use materials, what to
record, and how to
begin stories.
And what about having 10 different types of life-story books that
you could use as a
starting point - covers and albums that you adapt to suit different
individuals and their
interests.
How would that help you with your memory work?
Take a look at the here. - Just one of 10 practical 'book'
projects that you can use to help you record those visual memories.
When working with vulnerable people it's important to understand
the hows and whys
of developing personal qualities, as much as 'doing' practical
exercises.
Beginning to establish rapport and appreciating the importance of
talking, helps us
to create the a trusting environment.
The visual part of Working with Memories gives you ideas on using
memory tools
and materials, basic page layout ideas and essentials for beginning.
There's a full
section of what you might include in your pages, and tip on some
basic
techniques borrowed from Scrapbooking.
I've also included a number of Creative writing . This section
looks at a
range of activities to encourage the senses: drawing projects,
poetry and the value
of art and picture triggers in life story work.
Every session leads towards the creation of a personal story book -
helping others to share memories before it's too late,
or the memory is lost.
Working with memories encourages you to develop personal approaches
to your
work. This will help you to create truly original and personal story
books that
celebrate individual experience.
Having 10 step-by-step projects alone is worth
