Massage for People Living with Dementia

20/04/2026

Did you miss my newsletter on Friday?
No worries, it's right here - Pauses 🐾🐾 Podcast and Prepping:
https://massagefordementia.co.uk/when-words-escape-us-pauses-%f0%9f%90%be%f0%9f%90%be-podcast-and-prepping/

20/04/2026

I love this conference and feel so lucky we have this in Cornwall. I always learn something new or feel inspired - or both.
Which is why I'm delighted to be presenting something playful but profound, "Rediscovering Touch in Dementia Care".
It'll be lovely to see you there!

🌟 Save the date! 🌟

The Cornwall Annual Dementia Conference 2026 is happening on Friday 15 May at the Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge.

Join us for a day of insight, inspiration, and practical learning, with speakers including Professor Kevin Brazil on Integrating Palliative Care across the Dementia Journey, Jane Howard on Creative Arts and Dementia and Nicolle Mitchell, Massage4Dementia, delivering a session on ‘Rediscovering Touch and Dementia’.

Plus, interactive workshops, networking, and expert guidance.

🎟 Find out more and secure your place:
🔗 kernowhealthcic.org.uk/cornwall-training-hub/courses/course/dementia-conference-15th-may-2026

17/04/2026

A little feelgood on a Friday for you ...
Touch changes our chemistry maybe for a few minutes, an hour ... sometimes its after effects can last for days.
However long it lasts, every moment is worth the time spent connecting with compassion.
Enjoy your weekend my lovelies and if you're working or caring

17/04/2026

When Escape Us ... Pauses 🐾🐾 podcast and prepping!
Have you subscribed?
If so, my newsletter will be in your inny boxes at 6pm today.
If not, have a read and subscribe here for future news and tips:
https://massagefordementia.co.uk/when-words-escape-us-pauses-%f0%9f%90%be%f0%9f%90%be-podcast-and-prepping/
Today I I reveal how therapeutic parenting helped me support transitions better and I'm on a podcast with Gretchen Pop where we focus on the relational work over fancy techniques.

15/04/2026

This is a really valuable blog which shows how we can dismiss, invalidate or reduce a person's feelings with well intended responses.
Empathy is the key, and sitting with a person's feelings is uncomfortable but really builds connection and that is more important than fixing... which often says more about our discomfort or sense of inconvenience.

When I teach communication with people living with dementia, I often show what isn’t empathy - it helps us understand the difference.

A friend of mine, a pastry chef, always drove the same route to work at 4:30 AM.
One afternoon she went mid-day, not knowing the road was closed after 8:00 AM - and got a $150 ticket.

Imagine this happened to you. You feel upset and tell a friend.

What response would you hope for?

Now notice how these feel:

Sympathy
"I know exactly how you feel."

Redirection
"Don’t think about it. Let’s get coffee."

Confrontation
"Why didn’t you look at the sign?"

Calming
"It’s not so bad. You’re lucky."

Minimizing
"That’s nothing compared to what happened to me."

For me, none of these would feel supportive.

What I would need is something simple:
"Oh no, that’s terrible."

Not fixing. Not dismissing. Just understanding.

👇 To learn more, read our blog post: The Importance of Empathy (link in comments)

Follow us for more insights on understanding dementia and connecting through hand reflexology and empathy.

15/04/2026

I often talk about creating a sense of safety in my work. It comes back to giving people space and to really listen without getting defensive.

The strong theme running through this brilliant book by Megha Mohan is about women taking action to feel safer. I don't want a protector, I want for all women to feel safe because that's normal and expected.... not to have to take action because they don't feel safe.... because, SPOILER ALERT it's all about equity, parity and respect, and that's where the work lies for anyone who treats women and indeed anyone as lesser.

15/04/2026

In case you missed it or prefer it with captions, here's my latest reel on transitions and how preparation can help smooth massage treatments but really this can apply with many types of transition. What do you do to smooth even the smallest of changes?

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

15/04/2026

Rashielee is a heart led community who quite simply put the warmth, humanity and home back into care and support for elders and people who live with dementia.
More than this though, they really invest in caring for their staff. Supervisions and training are priortised as is genuine support for staff health and wellbeing, including open discussions about shared grief because they understand that good care is relational and relationships need support and understanding when loss or pain is experienced.

14/04/2026

Preparation can ease transitions of movement within treatments. How do you prepare for transitions when supporting a person living with dementia?

14/04/2026

Get yourself booked in - and tell your friends! /Tigger

14/04/2026

I really value these free webinars.
I can personally vouch for Dr Zena Aldridge being an engaging and compelling speaker, who delivers with a big heart and lashings of common sense, with practical changes, including thinking a little differently to the ways things have become embedded in practice.

Join Dementia Community for their regular, free, 1-hour webinars. Topics for forthcoming webinars in the 2026 programme are:

Monday 13 April, 2pm-3pm: 10 reasons to embrace gardening, your secret weapon in living well with dementia. This webinar will explore evidence-based reasons why gardening is so good for cognitive health and general wellbeing. Fiona Thackeray, CEO of Trellis, will also share tips and ideas for ways you can get started with (or rediscover) gardening to enjoy some of these amazing benefits. There will also be onward signposting for guidance and support. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/10-reasons-to-embrace-gardening-your-secret-weapon-in-living-with-dementia-tickets-1982965997679

Monday 27 April, 2pm-3pm: Personal care and dementia – support for family carers. Hear from Jennifer Bray and Thomas Morton from the Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester about the resources they co-produced to support family carers as part of their ‘Crossing the Line’ project around personal care and dementia. You’ll find out about the research behind the resources and get a flavour of the range of resources freely available to family carers via their dedicated new website, including short video clips from carers sharing their own experiences. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/personal-care-and-dementia-support-for-family-carers-tickets-1982966589449

Monday 11 May, 2pm-3pm: Why we must improve access to dementia assessment and diagnosis. This session will challenge common myths and misconceptions about dementia assessment and diagnosis. Dr Zena Aldridge RMHN MA QN FRSA, Independent Dementia Nurse Consultant, NIHR Nursing and Midwifery-Associate Director for Social Care will explore why it’s important to access an assessment and accurate diagnosis at any stage of the condition, how other treatable conditions with similar symptoms can be picked up by seeking an assessment, and why a diagnosis even in the advanced stages of any type of dementia can support understanding, care planning and decision-making that can improve outcomes for all those affected. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/why-we-must-improve-access-to-dementia-assessment-and-diagnosis-tickets-1984133423481

13/04/2026

Are you an aromatherapist looking for meaningful accredited CPD?
Then join me in August at the stunning Blue Lotus Therapy Centre for a wonderful exploration of select essential oils.
We'll compare our own experiences and knowledge with the scientific research to effectively support people living with dementia to improve health and well-being outcomes.
It's a relaxed collaborative day of sharing where we consider the practicalities of methods of use and look at how we can support secondary health issues common in this client group making our treatments as holistic as possible.
Ooh! and if you book on the Massage for Dementia course on the 8th August too, you'll save £50
https://massagefordementia.co.uk/product/october-18-and-october-19-2024/
The Federation of Holistic Therapists accredited
"When words escape us, the senses connect to our very essence"