Creative Care

Among my prescriptions to caregivers – especially those who struggle to find meaning and in creating a typical day that is safe, social, and engaged – is Anne Basting’s book. Basting, a theater arts professor, makes a persuasive case that upends the usual and customary approaches to caring for persons living with dementia. Her central premise is this: Together, caregivers and patients can create. She offers concrete ideas and steps to address some of the most vexing challenges such as when a patient asks the whereabouts of a long-ago deceased relative.

Anne Basting offers lively examples of how creative care enables people living with dementia to experience joy and connect meaningfully with others. Her ideas about creative care are grounded in solid research and her experiences developing innovative arts experiences in communities and long-term care settings. Throughout the book, she offers concrete suggestions for integrating creativity into all aspects of care. She knows this field well and movingly describes her own mother’s journey with Alzheimer’s dementia.