Welcome to the Storied Lives blog!
In this very first post I would like to introduce myself and to give you a brief overview of the Storied Lives site.
Connecting lives through stories
My name is Christine Novy. I am a registered psychotherapist based in Ottawa, Ontario, and for the past four years I have been exploring creative ways for people living with dementia to stay connected with the important people in their lives. This exploration has been so enjoyable and so entirely rewarding that I am delighted, now, to share the experience with a wider public.
The Storied Lives site is about stories - told and shared - by people living with dementia. It is also about enabling people living with dementia to tell and share these stories.
Life story work
In the field of gerontology, the gathering, telling and sharing of stories is referred to as life story work. Whether you are an individual living with dementia, a family caregiver or friend, or someone from the dementia care community, in the pages of this site you'll find tips and opportunities to learn about, take part in and enjoy life story work.
Replica able seaman's uniform loaned courtesy of The War Museum, Ottawa
Here I am with Tom, one of the storytellers you'll meet when you visit the site. Making a life story document together is often a first step in life story work and can be tremendous fun. If you would like to learn more about life story documents and their uses, then I highly recommend a delightful video in which Tom and his daughter, Jill, talk about their experience of co-creating a life story document. You'll find it on the Life Story Documents page. If you're interested in writing or co-creating your own life story document, then I invite you to visit Writing Your Own Life Story.
Person-centred dementia care
Life story work is increasingly recognized as a key component of person-centred dementia care. Research suggests that knowing the person behind the dementia gives rise to more meaningful social interaction and personalized care. This has certainly been our experience at Storied Lives. Reciprocal care, that involves both giving and receiving, can enrich all our lives.
A beautiful and very touching example of reciprocity in action can be found on The Reminiscence Project page, where staff, volunteers and participants from Carefor Carling Day Program speak about their experience of life story work. If you are interested to learn more about person-centred approaches to communication in dementia care, I also highly recommend a recent article by Downs and Collins (2015)*.
A creative approach to communication
Communication is pivotal to all life story work and to all social interactions. And, to reiterate the message found in Downs and Collins, we all have a role to play in making communication successful. In the video When words fail.. making memories visible you'll see how making memories visible enabled Fran, in spite of severe word-finding difficulties, to be part of a conversation about her life. You can meet Fran, and learn about her incredible childhood escape from war-torn Amsterdam, on the A Creative Approach page. Alongside the video, you'll find suggestions for some alternative approaches to communication that can help offset communication difficulties and make time spent together fun and engaging for everyone.
The Storied Lives site is filled with pictures, videos and stories from our different life story projects to date. Enjoy!
Coming up soon
The next two posts will focus on questions that I am frequently asked about life story work:
- How do you co-create a life story document with a person who has very limited verbal communication skills?
- How do you work with sad stories?
If you have questions that you would like me to address, please send them along!
*Downs, M., & Collins, L. (2015). Person-centred communication in dementia care. Nursing Standard, 30(11), 37-41.