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Stories Over Tea: The Power of Reminiscence Therapy
The communist-era farmhouse at the Hungarian Open Air Museum, also known as Skanzen, is a time capsule of 1950s domesticity — sturdy wooden furniture, an old transistor radio. The kitchen is well-equipped with enamel cookware and patterned ceramic serving bowls, a table laden with matching tea cups and a tall pitcher of Bambi, the popular orange soda that was the taste of a Hungarian summer before the arrival of Coca-Cola in the late 1960s. For most visitors, the room evokes an almost-forgotten distant past. But for elderly people living with dementia, the surroundings are a welcome return to the familiar world of their youth.
Skanzen museum began offering reminiscence sessions for people with dementia in 2014 as part of a joint EU-funded project with four other museums across Europe: Jamtli in Sweden, Den Gamle By in Denmark, Beamish in the UK and Maihaugen in Norway. “We realized that our population is aging,” recalls Márta Bokonics-Kramlik, head of the museum’s learning department. “Many seniors are visiting our museum, and many are living with dementia, so we wanted to create something special for them.”
A time capsule of 1950s domesticity is an ideal space for reminiscence therapy. Courtesy of the Hungarian Open Air Museum
Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that affect memory, thinking, behavior and emotion, with Alzheimer’s being the most common and best-known form. Over 55 million people were living with dementia worldwide in 2020, and the number is expected to almost double every 20 years due to demographic aging.
While there is no known cure for the cognitive symptoms of dementia, its impact on self-identity and relationships can be ameliorated in different ways. Memories string our past and present selves into a coherent whole, and the perceived loss of identity can be particularly painful for people living with dementia, as well as those caring for them.
The post Stories Over Tea: The Power of Reminiscence Therapy appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.
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