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Reviews"The Best Friends Approach, Second Edition, is a joy to read. It touched my heart. At the same time, it was practical, offering clear ways to implement all aspects of this extraordinary program. Being a Best Friend is so uncomplicated when you understand that this simply means you know the perperson's Life Story and the importance of the process for providing care, not just how to complete the task. This book should be "must reading" for care partners, both professional and family. So often, friends are not prepared to continue a relationship with someone with progressive memory loss, and sharing this book with them will help "old friends" continue to be Best Friends. Living with memory loss can be a very frightening journey, but when surrounded by Best Friends who help you continue to engage in life and continue to remind you that you are a very special person, the journey is not quite so frightening, and can still have many moments of joy.
SynopsisRemaining as wise and relevant as it ever was, this updated second edition brings professional care partners a wealth of new advice on how to incorporate the celebrated tenets of Best Friends (TM) into the everyday care of people with dementia. Using the best qualities of friendship-respect, empathy, support, trust, and humor-you can ensure the highest quality of life for the people in your care, making each day reassuring, enjoyable, and secure. In addition to explaining the basic elements of communication and caregiving Knack that are essential to the Best Friends approach, this revised edition includes all-new chapters on using the life story, planning activities, being successful when behaviors become challenging, getting the best from families and volunteers, and effectively creating and sustaining a Best Friends program. What's New? The 2nd edition is substantially reorganized for the benefit of professional care partners and it features an all-new final section: Part 1: Introduces the building blocks of the Best Friends (TM) approach, including the Dementia Bill of Rights, the concept of relationship-centered care, and the core tenets of Best Friends Part 2: Explains Best Friends in practice in formal care settings, with in-depth chapters on the life story, communication, caregiving Knack, activities, and challenging behavior. Part 3: Discusses how to create and sustain a Best Friends program as well as how to use volunteers and partner with families., Successfully implement this relationship-centered approach to dementia care that builds on the essential elements of friendship--respect, empathy, support, trust, and humor. For decades the acclaimed Best Friends(tm) approach has been widely recognized for helping people with Alzheimer's and other dementias experience meaningful engagement and dignity in all aspects of their lives. In this completely revised and expanded second edition, care partners learn how to apply the core principles of the approach through practical tips and instructive examples of Best Friends in action. An all-new section also provides a roadmap for creating and sustaining a Best Friends program. Become familiar with: The building blocks of the approach, including the Dementia Bill of Rights and the concept of relationship-centered care The core tenets of Best Friends: the Life Story, skilled communication, and caregiving Knack New approaches to minimizing challenging behaviors and to creating activities that produce true engagement How to use Best Friends in a variety of care settings Effective ways to involve families and volunteers An approach that's embraced around the world! Make each day reassuring, enjoyable, and secure for the people in your care with this simple, compassionate approach to dementia care.
LC Classification NumberRC523