Safe Haven Dementia Centre was again delighted to take its place around the table at the monthly Changing Places 247 meeting, while continuing to add its support to the outstanding service they provide to carers.
The support group, for people who care for a parent with dementia, met at The Lions, in Bledlow, on Wednesday 4th March 2015, and its founder, Helen Robinson, didn’t disappoint when finding someone knowledgeable within the dementia field to talk about their experiences when we were joined by Dr Tania Thorn, a leading psychologist for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Rather than just speak about dementia, Dr Thorn suggested that people take the lead in the discussion, and encouraged those in attendance to ask for help and support in the areas that they found particularly challenging, or areas of the conditional that they wanted to better understand. It didn’t take the group long to fire a number of questions at her, and she was then able to guide everyone through each topic very clearly and concisely, and the advice and knowledge shared will no doubt prove invaluable to the carers moving forward.
Dr Thorn also leads a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) group for carers of people with dementia, which meets in Aylesbury and Amersham. The group runs 12 fortnightly sessions, each lasting one-and-a-half hours. For more information, call Healthy Minds on 0844 225 2400 and quote ‘CBT for carers group’.
Since launching Safe Haven Dementia Centre, we have become much more aware of the help and support that is available to carers. In order for these fantastic groups to thrive and prosper, they really do need people who are caring for a person with dementia to utilise the services that they offer. We appreciate that it can sometimes be daunting to take the plunge and attend one of these groups, but we can honestly say that if you do, you won’t regret it.
Changing Places 247’s meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month. For more information, visit their website at: www.changingplaces247.co.uk
