Support for carers
Providing support for carers
At The Ness Care Group, we are amazed at the strength, compassion and care families have in supporting someone who is living with memory loss.
Although we offer treatment and therapy for those living with dementia or memory loss, we are also here to provide support to their carers.
How The Ness can support those who care for someone with dementia
We often hear individuals saying ‘I don’t need any help’ but we strongly encourage anyone who helps someone living with dementia, to seek support for themselves as well.
There are 3 crucial reasons for this.
The person who becomes the primary informal carer will often live with the person 24 hours a day, for years. They can become more isolated, lose perspective and don’t look after themselves – causing them to become less happy, less resilient and less capable.
At The Ness, a core part of our service is building time out for the informal carer. If you want to stay resilient, make sure you don’t stop taking time for yourself!
Secondly the person living with dementia also needs to be among other people. Unless informal carers separate themselves and encourage time with trusted people, then shadowing starts to occur – where the person feels lost and confused when their primary carer is not in sight.
The Ness outreach team work hard in this area, building continuity in their therapeutic relationships and trust. We can then slowly become a trusted support.
Mike started joining a small group session every Wednesday morning. The group consisted of 4 people and a specialist facilitator each week they would talk, discuss topics of interest and the facilitator would prepare a carefully targeted stimulating session that pushed their minds through words, numbers, reminiscence or other systems. Each session lasted around 2 hours and there was lots of laughter, engagement and fun. Mike engaged really well and family/friends noticed an immediate increase in his language, his social confidence and his mood.
Finally, dementia is incredibly complicated, not only the disease itself but also navigating the health & social care systems.
At The Ness we have a carers empowerment group that helps families connect with other people going through a similar situation and that offers expert advice on dementia, social care
and funding.
In summary this chronic illness is incredibly hard, and the way to be the best carer you can is to ensure you get expert advice, time for yourself and to introduce others who will be trusted by the aperson living with dementia. At The Ness this is what we do! With you for the journey.
Our Services
Providing research-based clinical care and support to both families and individuals suffering from dementia or memory loss. We offer a complete range of care services that respond to changing needs.
Specialist Hubs
Our Hubs across Devon are open up to 6 days a week. We work with individuals at different stages of the illness. We run specialist therapies, offer information, support, respite for carers and access to a clinical team.
Group Therapy
Using the NHS recommended treatment called Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, we work with small groups in the early stages of memory loss.
Home Therapy
Our outreach team offer 1:1 support in the home and are highly trained and focus on building a therapeutic, consistent relationship to improve the individuals mental healthand social stimulation.
Online Support
Our digital support is part of The Ness Membership. Members can get access to health professionals, activities, carer support and peer support. Our focus is on the carer and helping them to stay resilient.
“I had my doubts about whether Sid would be happy to leave me for a few hours but he really took to the staff at The Ness Dementia Centre and now happily spends the whole day there. This has given me some precious respite.”