Older people

Gillian's story: overcoming loneliness

Gillian was one of the 1 million older people for whom loneliness is a reality. But she's turned her life around with the help of the Mental Health Foundation.

The One-Stop Guide to Dementia

8 December 2014,

This is a practical and compact guide with detailed information about what will make a difference in the lives of people with dementia and their carers.

Having a voice and influencing our society and future is a deep-seated need in every person

23 May 2014, Katrina Jenkins

In my work on a project to engage and empower groups of people living with a diagnosis of dementia, I feel I'm witnessing the building and expansion of a social movement.

Take time to listen to the silent; they have so much to say

21 May 2014,

As the group facilitator for a dementia self help project I have learned to listen, to connect, communicate, share, to care and support each other...isn’t that what life is all about?

The Power of Story

3 February 2014, Guest Blogger

Helena Taylor-Knox, Power of Story Project Officer at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, talks about her project sharing real life stories to raise awareness of the mental health of older adults.

Debating dementia diagnosis â detecting differences

22 November 2013,

An early diagnosis means that someone knows what is causing their symptoms or difficulties, enables them to plan ahead, and can provide access to care and treatment which may slow down the illness or make it more manageable. However, the opening debate at this year’s Dementia Congress threw the issue up in the air again.

Is being old a mental health problem?

8 October 2013,

There is a still a strong tendency among many people to associate old age very negatively, with a sense of it being a ‘burden on society’, something to be feared, and consisting primarily of an unpleasant combination of health conditions and problems.

Something more to say

27 June 2013, Guest Blogger

Catherine Jackson, Deputy Editor of Therapy Today journal reacts to the Rt Rev Richard Chartres' recent comments about the baby-boomer generation "absorbing" a disproportionate share of this country’s welfare spending.

For people with dementia (and everyone else) there needs to be such a thing as society

19 April 2013,

Nearly 2/3 of people with dementia who live on their own experience feelings of loneliness, according to a report by the Alzheimer’s Society. We need to do more to reduce the social isolation of people with dementia.