Dementia Care Workshops
Our most popular sessions are 3-hours. However, any of these sessions may be blended to provide a 6-hour, or longer, workshop to address specific needs or provide additional skill practice.
New! PSW Specialist Certificate in Dementia Care
This customized program provides PSWs with an in-depth understanding of dementia, its impact on clients, and skills to better relate with and support their clients. We’ll work with you to select topics that meet your organization’s specific needs and create a comprehensive program that builds confidence and practical skills.
Capacity Builders’ specialist certificate programs are 12 - 18 hours in length and include extensive hands-on learning (the program does not have to be delivered on consecutive days – we’ll work together to determine an appropriate training schedule for your staff). We welcome the opportunity to work with single organizations, multiple providers, collaboratives or networks. A certificate identifying participants as PSW Specialists in Dementia is awarded to those who successfully complete the program. For more information, please contact us at info@capacitybuilders.ca.
This customized program provides PSWs with an in-depth understanding of dementia, its impact on clients, and skills to better relate with and support their clients. We’ll work with you to select topics that meet your organization’s specific needs and create a comprehensive program that builds confidence and practical skills.
Capacity Builders’ specialist certificate programs are 12 - 18 hours in length and include extensive hands-on learning (the program does not have to be delivered on consecutive days – we’ll work together to determine an appropriate training schedule for your staff). We welcome the opportunity to work with single organizations, multiple providers, collaboratives or networks. A certificate identifying participants as PSW Specialists in Dementia is awarded to those who successfully complete the program. For more information, please contact us at info@capacitybuilders.ca.
Introduction to Cognition and Dementia
3-hour workshop
This session provides an introduction to normal cognition, age-related changes, and changes that may come from a disease process. We’ll examine dementia as a syndrome that may be caused by a wide variety of conditions, discuss the symptoms and general approaches to client support.
This session will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
This session provides an introduction to normal cognition, age-related changes, and changes that may come from a disease process. We’ll examine dementia as a syndrome that may be caused by a wide variety of conditions, discuss the symptoms and general approaches to client support.
This session will help your staff:
- understand the impact of common factors on cognitive ability
- discuss common symptoms (memory loss, lack of insight, inability to process information, etc.)
- discuss delirium as distinct from dementia
- identify and apply approaches to minimize impairment and enhance client function where possible
New! Understanding Dementia from Your Client’s Perspective
3-hour workshop
This highly interactive workshop will help support workers step into the shoes of the client with dementia and better understand the world in which they live. Participants will gain insight into the effect of sensory impairment on persons with dementia, and how those impairments affect perception of their surroundings. The goal of this workshop is to sensitize support workers to the effects of changes in mobility, vision, hearing and tactile sensation.
This session will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
This highly interactive workshop will help support workers step into the shoes of the client with dementia and better understand the world in which they live. Participants will gain insight into the effect of sensory impairment on persons with dementia, and how those impairments affect perception of their surroundings. The goal of this workshop is to sensitize support workers to the effects of changes in mobility, vision, hearing and tactile sensation.
This session will help your staff:
- recognize that dementia results in changes in brain function which impact an individual's ability to interpret the world and to function within it
- identify major cognitive losses which may be exacerbated by sensory loss
- identify practical strategies which may address some sensory/perceptual impairments
Communication in Dementia: From Confusion to Understanding
3-hour workshop
Impairment in memory and thinking can make it very difficult for clients to communicate – which can be frustrating for the person with dementia, and challenging for the PSW providing support. In this interactive workshop, PSWs will learn common changes in communication ability and learn how to respond to best support communication. Support workers will learn key questions to ask clients to encourage conversation, the role of body language, the uses of life story information, what delusions in dementia are and how to respond to them, and how all this can be used to provide better support…and less frustration.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
Impairment in memory and thinking can make it very difficult for clients to communicate – which can be frustrating for the person with dementia, and challenging for the PSW providing support. In this interactive workshop, PSWs will learn common changes in communication ability and learn how to respond to best support communication. Support workers will learn key questions to ask clients to encourage conversation, the role of body language, the uses of life story information, what delusions in dementia are and how to respond to them, and how all this can be used to provide better support…and less frustration.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
- be better able to identify common communication issues for clients with dementia
- understand the impact of life history on the person’s current behaviour, and get ideas for sourcing life history information about the client
- be better equipped to engage clients with dementia in conversation using a variety of approaches
- use clarifying questions and approaches to better understand confusing communication
- learn appropriate methods of sharing this information with the other members of the support team
New Format! Responding to Challenging Behaviours: Meeting Your Organization's Specific Needs
3-hour workshop
This workshop will help PSWs understand that there is meaning behind challenging behaviours and develop useful skills to prevent or de-escalate these behaviours. Every workshop will include an introduction to understanding client behaviours and then we'll focus on 2-3 specific behaviours that pose challenges for your staff, as determined by you and our trainer in a pre-session consultation call. Your staff will learn about triggers and warning signs for the specific behaviours they find challenging, and gain numerous strategies to effectively respond to those behaviours.
Common behaviours include:
See below for separate sessions that focus on responding to socially inappropriate behaviours and physical/verbal challenging behaviours.
3-hour workshop
This workshop will help PSWs understand that there is meaning behind challenging behaviours and develop useful skills to prevent or de-escalate these behaviours. Every workshop will include an introduction to understanding client behaviours and then we'll focus on 2-3 specific behaviours that pose challenges for your staff, as determined by you and our trainer in a pre-session consultation call. Your staff will learn about triggers and warning signs for the specific behaviours they find challenging, and gain numerous strategies to effectively respond to those behaviours.
Common behaviours include:
- resistance to care
- exist seeking
- repetitiveness (physical and verbal)
- wandering
- sundowning
- appearing to live in the past or looking for people who are no longer alive
- rummaging through possessions
- collecting/hiding items/guarding
See below for separate sessions that focus on responding to socially inappropriate behaviours and physical/verbal challenging behaviours.
New! Responding to Socially Inappropriate Behaviours in Dementia
3-hour workshop
Dementia reduces the filters that adults develop to shape what is considered appropriate in social situations. Socially inappropriate behaviours may range from largely insignificant to those that negatively affect people around the person (sexual overtures, voiding in public, etc.). This session will focus on sexual disinhibition as well as other socially inappropriate behaviours and explore potential triggers and productive responses for support workers.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
Dementia reduces the filters that adults develop to shape what is considered appropriate in social situations. Socially inappropriate behaviours may range from largely insignificant to those that negatively affect people around the person (sexual overtures, voiding in public, etc.). This session will focus on sexual disinhibition as well as other socially inappropriate behaviours and explore potential triggers and productive responses for support workers.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
- define what is meant by socially inappropriate behaviour and distinguish it from behaviour that may be personally uncomfortable
- identify possible triggers for socially inappropriate behaviour
- apply positive approaches in response to these behaviours
- share observations and approaches with other members of the support team.
Physical and Verbal Challenging Behaviours in Dementia
(formerly Aggression in Dementia)
3-hour workshop
This interactive session focuses on physical and verbal behaviours that are, or may be seen, as aggressive. We'll discuss aggression in clients with dementia, its causes and how to respond to it. We’ll examine exactly what aggression is, and isn't, and how to tell the difference. We'll explore situations that may spark aggression, including those related to environment, approach and perspective. Your staff will have the opportunity to apply problem-solving processes to real-world aggression situations and to gain skill in responding to aggression in their clients.
This session will help your staff:
(formerly Aggression in Dementia)
3-hour workshop
This interactive session focuses on physical and verbal behaviours that are, or may be seen, as aggressive. We'll discuss aggression in clients with dementia, its causes and how to respond to it. We’ll examine exactly what aggression is, and isn't, and how to tell the difference. We'll explore situations that may spark aggression, including those related to environment, approach and perspective. Your staff will have the opportunity to apply problem-solving processes to real-world aggression situations and to gain skill in responding to aggression in their clients.
This session will help your staff:
- understand the difference between assertiveness, abruptness, aggression and anger - and the risks associated with labelling behaviour
- appreciate the factors that may spark aggression; apply a problem-identification and response approach to resolving the issue
- contribute relevant information learned to the client’s support plan and communicate to the team
- identify risks to the support worker’s own boundaries and well-being, and strategies to address them
New! Supporting Caregivers of People with Dementia
3-hour workshop
Caregivers often have difficulty assisting a person with dementia, especially when they encounter behaviours that are difficult to understand. This workshop focusses on the important role PSWs have in providing support to those who care for a person with dementia.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
Caregivers often have difficulty assisting a person with dementia, especially when they encounter behaviours that are difficult to understand. This workshop focusses on the important role PSWs have in providing support to those who care for a person with dementia.
This in-service workshop will help your staff:
- identify their role in supporting the caregiver of the person with dementia
- appreciate the perspective of caregivers
- establish rapport, share information and use problem-solving skills to support the caregiver
- share relevant information with the support team
- learn positive coping approaches they can share with caregivers
New! The Final Journey: When the Person with Dementia is Dying
3-hour workshop
The last stages of life are different when a person has dementia. Cognitive and physical changes in the last stages make it difficult for the person to share what they are experiencing—and make it difficult for PSWs to respond. This workshop will highlight common symptoms people experience, how they may present and how PSWs might best respond to the needs identified. We will also discuss the ethical and support challenges when providing support to the dying client with dementia.
This session will help your staff:
3-hour workshop
The last stages of life are different when a person has dementia. Cognitive and physical changes in the last stages make it difficult for the person to share what they are experiencing—and make it difficult for PSWs to respond. This workshop will highlight common symptoms people experience, how they may present and how PSWs might best respond to the needs identified. We will also discuss the ethical and support challenges when providing support to the dying client with dementia.
This session will help your staff:
- identify and discuss the ways in which late stage dementia impacts the dying process (swallowing impairment, loss of verbal communication, etc.)
- describe observation and assessment approaches to identify the changes a particular client may have
- discuss best practice approaches to supporting the client
- discuss the ethical issues raised in providing support to clients
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Connect with us by phone, email or request an online quote:
info@capacitybuilders.ca 416-256-3010 ext. 229 1-800-267-6272 ext. 229 Request a Quote |
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