The use of counselling skills in the care of people with dementia

A 3-day course for experienced person-centred dementia care staff devised and delivered by DementiaTrainers.


Day 1

  • Emotional expression
  • Issues leading to strong feelings for people with dementia
  • Listening skills
  • Recognising feelings
  • Messages behind behaviour
  • Helpful and unhelpful questions
  • Empathy
  • Basic qualities and skills of counselling
  • Demonstration of basic counselling skills
  • Counselling skills practice: reflecting and clarifying

Day 2

  • Non-verbal communication
  • When practical solutions don’t help
  • Demonstration and practice of counselling skills: paraphrasing and summarising
  • Acknowledging feelings within the context of practical help
  • Skills and qualities needed for person-centred dementia care
  • Incorporating counselling skills into day-to-day practice
  • The use of counselling skills in responding to different realities
  • Case study and guided demonstration: using counselling skills to respond to different realities
  • Compensating for dementia-related difficulties in using counselling skills
  • Counselling skills practice

Day 3

  • Losses involved in dementia
  • Strategies for dealing with feelings
  • Demonstration role play: using counselling skills with a person with dementia
  • Counselling skills practice
  • Case study: identifying feelings and underlying messages
  • Group role play: using counselling skills with a person with dementia
  • The difference between ‘counselling’ and ‘using counselling skills’
  • What we can hope to achieve in using counselling skills with people with dementia
  • Personal support systems
  • Taking the learning back into work

Back to Sample Course Outlines