Smell, touch, taste, sound, and sight are all great ways to try to get patients to recall memories. The best way for reminiscence therapy to work is through the senses. In the later stages of dementia reminiscence therapy may become more difficult, but improvements to mood and happiness have been observed in controlled trials. Numerous causes have been posited, from the value of finding meaning and coherence in one’s life, the resolution of old conflicts, and the reinforcement of a sense of continuity.
Reminiscence therapy has been shown to have many benefits for aging adults, the most significant being the alleviation of symptoms of depression, though improvements to general well-being, ego-integrity, sense of purpose in life, cognitive performance, social integration, and death preparation have been noted as well. Reminiscence therapy uses this ability to recall events in the long term even when the patient's short term memory may be declining. Įlderly patients with certain forms of dementia may not be able to remember what they had for lunch the previous day, but they will most likely remember their wedding day or they day their child was born.
Butler, a psychiatrist with a specialty in geriatric medicine, first spoke of the idea of reminiscence and life review when he published an original article “The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence in the Aged” (Achenbaum, 2018). Robert Butler (1927–2010) is the accredited psychiatrist who first thought that reminiscing could be therapeutic.
#Reminisce meaning archive#
Reminiscence therapy typically uses aids of tangible prompts such as photographs, household and other familiar items from the past, music and archive sound recordings (NCBI).ĭr. Reminiscence sessions may be formal, informal, one-on-one, or in a group setting (Anon). Although reminiscing involves recalling past events, it encourages older patients to communicate and interact with a listener in the present. Reminiscence therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention that improves self-esteem and provides older patients with a sense of fulfillment and comfort as they look back at their lives. This type of reminiscence is called reminiscence therapy. Anyone can reminiscence about the past or a certain event, but reminiscence is often used in the older population, particularly the elderly population with forms of dementia as a therapeutic tool. Reminiscence can be defined as the act or process of recalling past experiences, events, or memories. Psychological usage Reminiscence therapy