Living with Dementia: A journey to the inner self – An Interview with Christine Bryden

“When I first started, there was no support for people with dementia, as it was assumed we lacked insight. Indeed the words of an Annual Report in 2000 of an Alzheimer’s Association spoke of us as being “mindless empty shells”. At first when I spoke up, people did not believe I had dementia because I could still speak. They said that even if I was showing the early signs, I was not a credible representative of people with dementia because of my level of function. Yet since then I have met so many others who have this diagnosis who are speaking out… We are receiving so much support and encouragement, and we are being listened to and respected. By treating us as experts in what it feels like to have a diagnosis of dementia, services and support are being much improved.”

November 16, 2011Arts therapies

The rebirth of Ritual Theatre as a potent healing force – An Interview with Claire Schrader

“…the book is about how ritual theatre can be expressed in a contemporary way that fits in with the way our lives are. People are hungering for this because the technological age is making us more and more disconnected, more in our heads and this is producing tremendous suffering under the labels of stress, fatigue and health problems. Ritual theatre along with the Arts Therapies counteract this. So the book includes ways in which ritual theatre is being brought into hospitals, institutions and work with marginal groups as well as to the general public.”

October 24, 2011Counselling

VIDEO: An Interview with Anthony Peake, co-editor of Making Sense of Near-Death Experiences: A Handbook for Clinicians

Anthony Peake is a renowned writer and researcher whose work focuses on the nature of consciousness and reality, and mysterious phenomena such as déjà vu.…

July 7, 2011Autism

JKP attends the NAS ‘Understanding and Managing Challenging Behaviour’ Conference in London

JKP attended The National Autistic Society’s conference on Understanding and Managing Challenging Behaviour held at Kensington Town Hall in London on the 6th July. The…

May 23, 2011Dementia

The Reverend Albert Jewell answers one JKP Reader’s Questions about his latest book, Spirituality and Personhood in Dementia

This month, we offered one of our readers a chance to preview a copy of the Revd Jewell’s latest JKP title, Spirituality and Personhood in Dementia, and ask him some questions about it: “Q: To what extent and how far has your exploration of dementia enhanced your understanding of spirituality? A: …People with dementia in the main live in the present moment because the past tends to get dismantled. To be able to live fully in the present, rather than be bugged by the past or worried about the future, is a great gift and one I covet…”

April 8, 2011Adoption and Fostering

Lisa Spillane on How Qigong can help children who feel ‘pushed and pulled’ by their emotions

“…it dawned on me how ridiculous it was that even though I’d had this body for so many years and took an interest in health and nutrition, I was unable to confidently point to my spleen, pancreas or liver. I thought to myself that if I’d learned these exercises as a child, not only would I have known more about my body but I’d have been able to help myself in those dark times when I felt pushed and pulled by my emotions.”

February 21, 2011May 8, 2017Arts therapies

An Interview with author Claire Golomb on Child Development and ‘The Creation of Imaginary Worlds’

Claire Golomb is a Professor Emerita of the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts. For over 40 years she taught courses on child…

February 15, 2011Arts therapies

The Importance of Fostering the Creation of Imaginary Worlds

By Claire Golomb, Professor Emerita of the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, USA, and author of the new book The Creation of Imaginary…

January 18, 2011Autism

How meditation can help people with Asperger’s Syndrome release tension and recognise body language

By Chris Mitchell, author of Asperger’s Syndrome and Mindfulness: Taking Refuge in the Buddha. Body language, or non-verbal communication, is an aspect of life that…

November 10, 2010May 8, 2017Mental health

The Psychology of Spirituality – An Interview with JKP author Dr Larry Culliford

“Medical conditions, mental health and social problems all involve people experiencing distress and disability, facing losses and the threat of loss. The basic spiritual skill, of being able to rest, relax and create a still, peaceful state of mind, underpins others, such as empathic ability and emotional resilience, which allow us better to understand, comfort and guide those people in difficulty who are suffering. These are skills that give people the courage to witness and endure distress while sustaining an attitude of hope, and the inner strength to be able to give without feeling drained.”