Listen, Observe, Validate, and Engage!

Navigating the complexities of supporting a loved one or friend living with a dementia can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to go it alone. The L.O.V.E. Approach to Living with Dementia: Engaging in life with family and friends offers a fresh, innovative and empowering approach to supporting persons living with dementia, especially those living at home, while also supporting you so you can both enjoy a life of quality and well-being.

Filled with thoughtful and evidence-based strategies and inspiring insights, this interactive workbook is your trusted guide serving as a compassionate companion you can embrace. By meeting social, physical, cognitive and emotional needs, the person will sense a feeling of belonging and validation and can continue living with dignity and purpose. Vicky weaves personal stories, metaphors, compelling research, and anecdotes from her 40 year career in both clinical and community healthcare settings. She believes when we learn to Listen, Observe, Validate and Engage during any interaction, we build a bond of trust and enjoy a meaningful connection.

What you can expect from this book:

• Discover the importance of creating a strong social circle of family and friends for support to provide respite opportunities and stay renewed and refreshed!
• Gain strategies to enhance communication and foster positive interactions by easily stepping into their reality and “going with the flow,” thus minimizing conflicts.
• Learn how memories are stored and recalled. When a person who cannot “remember” is asked “to remember” they feel shame and embarrassment and can break their spirit.
• You can create a supportive environment and simplify tasks so the person can maintain independence longer. Learn to do “with” and not “for” the person.
• You will have opportunities to gain more self-awareness and personal growth and develop self-efficacy skills, believing you can make a difference in the person’s life.
• Understand the importance of using daily stretches, music and movement, expressive arts, mindfulness training, guided imagery, storytelling, hobbies, singing and dancing to slow the progression of the changes. Dementia is a disability and like so many other disabilities, the person faces discrimination, prejudices and isolation and being included in the community is their right
• Understand the importance of maintaining the roles and relationships you have with the person such as a father/son, sister/brother, mother/daughter or friend/friend. An unhealthy imbalance of power arises if you develop significantly more control and influence over the person.
• As an adult child, appreciate the honor of supporting a parent who lives with dementia and avoid the mindset you are “parenting your parent.” When you take on this belief you will begin treating your parent as a child. Children’s brains are developing and your parents brain functioning is declining. 

Let this book be your guide to address the stigma of dementia and seeing the whole person, not just the diagnosis. When we support people holistically, we ensure we are not reducing our approach to one single aspect of dementia, but see the bigger picture and appreciate the many dimensions of who a person is on the inside. 

Begin building resilience, compassion, confidence, and feelings of hope today, and continue sharing moments of joy with the person who trusts you the most!  

Vicky Pitner is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Certified Dementia Practitioner, consultant, trainer, national speaker, and an expert in dementia support. Vicky has been in healthcare for over 40 years, and as a holistic therapist and dementia expert she presents a unique approach 

She is also a HealthRhythm Drumming Facilitator, and specializes in using creative arts to promote self-awareness, expression, and improve overall well-being and quality of life.

As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Certified Dementia Practitioner, Vicky Pitner is a giving her a unique perspective on and has been using Expressive Arts, (music, dance, visual arts, psychodrama, storytelling, poetry, journaling, therapeutic drumming, and mindful walking) for over 40 years in clinical and community settings to promote creative healing. Her mission is to improve and enrich the bio-psych-social and physical functioning of those living with depression, anxiety, stress, chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, social isolation and grief, and their care-partners, through connectedness and experiential learning with meaningful evidenced based interventions. 

After a wonderful 40 year career in both clinical and community settings of supporting children with autism, her focus changed when a pivotal moment that changed the direction of her life . She is mission-driven to understand the family and friends dynamics of dementia when her beloved coach, Pat Head Summit, of the Tennessee Lady Vol’s shared publicly she had been diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.Filled with thoughtful and evidence-based strategies and inspiring insights, this interactive workbook is your trusted guide serving as a compassionate companion you can embrace. By meeting social, physical, cognitive and emotional needs, the person will sense a feeling of belonging and validation and can continue living with dignity and purpose. Vicky weaves personal stories, metaphors, compelling research, and anecdotes from her 40 year career in both clinical and community healthcare settings. She believes when we learn to Listen, Observe, Validate and Engage during any interaction, we build a bond of trust and enjoy a meaningful connection.Vicky Pitner Filled with thoughtful and evidence-based strategies and inspiring insights, this interactive workbook is your trusted guide serving as a compassionate companion you can embrace. By meeting social, physical, cognitive and emotional needs, the person will sense a feeling of belonging and validation and can continue living with dignity and purpose. Vicky weaves personal stories, metaphors, compelling research, and anecdotes from her 40 year career in both clinical and community healthcare settings. She believes when we learn to Listen, Observe, Validate and Engage during any interaction, we build a bond of trust and enjoy a meaningful connection.