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Both these books, separately and instinctively, commence their title with the word 'remembering'. For people with dementia and their families, reaching, reminiscing and acting upon memories is one way of keeping the past alive and the present in tune with life meaning. As Professor Woods states in the preface to Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today (RYCT), the RYCT approach is essentially relationship-centred and evidence-based and has the potential to enhance communication between people engaged in reminiscence activity that goes beyond words and delves into a rediscovery of the self. It is this deeply relational, connecting and biographically-driven aspect of reminiscence work that provides a communication platform from which to stimulate human growth through the recall of memories. From this starting point, anything is possible and these two books, in their own ways, are united by this philosophical and transcendent discourse.
The book by Pam Schweitzer and Errollyn Bruce describes both the RYCT approach - a creative and arts-based way of working with people with dementia and their family members that has developed over the last 10 years - and its use in a group-based programme for people with dementia and family members. Structured around the idea of life review work, the programme retraces the life course and enables memories to be relived and shared. The ethos of RYCT builds on the concept of the preservation of personhood by emphasising the idea of developing a person's current sense of self, embodying the idea of living with dementia. The book is a practical, accessible and comprehensive guide to undertaking a group-based programme using the RYCT approach. Its first half provides an overview of reminiscence therapy and discusses issues to be considered when...