With thanks to the late David Sutcliffe, author of ‘Working with Alzheimer’s Disease’ for allowing the use of his material.

This training session is intended for those leading worship services in Care Homes for the elderly mentally infirm (EMI Homes) It will also help those who visit people with dementia to understand the condition and communicate more effectively. The session is designed to last about two and a half hours with a short break for tea/coffee. The tutor should have some experience of dementia.

The tutor will need a flip chart for feed-back and give time for questions and comments during the course. The use of suitable visual clips from DVD, video, TV programmes, etc. can be used to illustrate behaviour in dementia. (See useful sources of information) The programme includes:

• Introduction
• Types of Dementia and Causes
• Results of Dementia  short-term memory loss, skills, words, inhibitions.   
• So what is left of the person?
• Meeting spiritual needs
• Worshipping with people with dementia – practical points
• Discussion Topics and Exercises for  groups preparing to lead worship
• Handout of useful sources of information