In this guest blog post, Centre for Dementia PhD student Surinder Bangar shares her experience of becoming a Timeslips certified facilitator.
Timeslips
I am delighted to have completed the training to become a Timeslips certified facilitator.
Timeslips was founded by MacArthur Fellow, Anne Basting in the United States over 20 years ago as a way of connecting with older adults with dementia. Timeslips is a creative storytelling activity which invites storytellers to respond to an image or object. Significantly this approach shifts the emphasis from the expectation to remember to the freedom to use imagination.
Failure-free
A series of open-ended questions are asked with responses recorded and then read back. There are no right or wrong answers and the activity is designed to be failure-free.
It can be used one to one or in group settings and both face-to-face or remotely. Studies have shown positive effects for those involved, for example, encouraging engagement and enjoyment through sharing experiences with each other and generating a sense of achievement.
Creative storytelling
The training involved learning about the Timeslips approach through a series of online modules which covered exploring creativity, ageing and care, key concepts, and tips for practice; co-producing three stories in practice and completion of an evaluation which was reviewed and discussed with a Timeslips coach. I co-produced three stories one to one with an older adult with dementia. The stories are published on the Timeslips website.
It has been illuminating using Timeslips. Whilst my experience so far is limited to the three sessions, I found that each time there was laughter, energy, and animated conversation during the process of responding to the photo. The joy of seeing a story being produced felt special.
There are resources developed on the Timeslips website with training videos for family and friends and a more in-depth training programme to become a Timeslips facilitator. The idea is that anyone can use this method with a collection of freely available photos together with question prompts. It has grown to be used internationally with over 900+ certified facilitators. Currently there are not many certified facilitators in the UK.
PhD study
I am looking forward to using the Timeslips approach as part of my PhD study which is about ‘Making stories: exploring creative storytelling approaches in the lives of people living with dementia and their carers in the community’.
My supervisors are Professor Tom Dening and Associate Professor Kevin Harvey. Kevin Harvey introduced me to the Timeslips approach, and I am thankful for financial support from the School of Medicine to complete the training. I am planning to use Timeslips alongside other creative storytelling approaches both within community group settings and with persons with dementia and their carers in a home setting.
I am attracted to using the Timeslips approach because it acknowledges and actively encourages the capacity for creativity at any stage of our lives. Whilst there are likely to be some challenges along the way it is exciting to explore how this can be used to connect meaningfully with persons with dementia in a way which continues to value what people are able to do – sharing experiences, stories, wisdom, and joy. I feel that it offers some hope.
Thank you to my supervisors for their on-going support, guidance and stimulating conversations.
Please do contact me if you have any experiences of using creative storytelling approaches and/or if you have any questions or comments. Thank you.
Email:
Further information: https://www.timeslips.org/