Until the day when Alzheimer’s can be cured, caregivers of Alzheimer’s face a challenging battle to care for the patient and oversee treatment of the difficult disease. In addition to traditional therapeutic approaches, some additional forms of therapy have been found useful for people with the disease.
The Botsford Hospital Geropsychiatry Service Enhancement Program stimulates memories of our patients through reminisce of their past. Reminiscence therapy, which invites a person with Alzheimer’s to exercise their long term memory by encouraging the sharing of positive recollection from younger days. In the earlier stages of the disease, the patient may still remember events and people from childhood and young adulthood.
As a tool to generate this type of conversation, Botsford Hospital’s Geropsychiatric Services seeks donations of photos or posters of historic buildings in Detroit, the surrounding metropolitan area (especially the Farmington/Farmington Hills area) and the state of Michigan. Focusing conversations on these more solid memories can improve patients’ mood, encourage verbalization and raise self-esteem.