ABSTRACT
A group leader has many options for intervention. Through witnessing the spontaneous responses in sessions covering a variety of subjects like Imaginary Photo Albums and using objects for Reminiscence Therapy, the group leader learns about the needs, frustrations, fears, changes and fulfillment of the participants.
Sharing memories from the past stimulates identifying with one another via the world they grew up in. Objects from the home and events in history trigger expression and the sharing of special moments.
Readers will benefit from the detailed documentation of sessions. They will be given insights, options and triggers to get the group going. The themes and subjects stimulate expression, self-esteem and social cohesion and cover almost everything related to their lives, including the here and now, the calendar, current events and feelings that need therapy. It can also include something just for fun.
We all recognize that these are people who need stimulation in order to function better in their daily routines. They spend a few hours a day at the Day Care Center. But what happens to their cognition when they are at home? Even though families might supply physical needs, people who are suffering from various forms of dementia could have a lonely existence at home. They are afraid to make mistakes. It is easier to simply withdraw. We witness here through the psychodrama enactments how they can make mistakes and learn ways to correct them.
