ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to equip group facilitators with the information and general skills needed for running a Living Well with Dementia course. Talking about dementia and the problems it causes is important because people can gain insight into their situation and help each other to learn ways to cope with some of the changes. Discussing difficult issues before participants are ready to do so can be distressing and mean that the course feels unsafe, so facilitators need considerable skill to pace the course appropriately: as the course progresses, the facilitator can slowly start to explore how memory loss and other cognitive problems affect people and how it makes them feel. The chapter covers a range of clinical issues including the selection and recruitment of course participants, practical issues in setting up a course, involving members of the family, course leadership skills, course development and using the workbook.
