Elder Engagement Program Design
Catherine Livingstone MA CDCP™ offers consulting and training to help you design popular programs for your library, gallery, museum, health care space or community group. Let's work together to celebrate the cognitive strengths of older adults in your community!
Planning Inclusive Programs with Intent & Joy
Working with people with lived experience of typical and atypical aging, their families, and local organizations to build aging-inclusive and dementia-positive communities is what this company is all about.
Honouring people with neurocognitive disorders, like Alzheimer's, Lewy Body Disease, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia and more, Catherine also offers consulting services to families, community organizations, and healthcare professionals that centre life interests, engage new learning, and celebrate a spectrum of skill strengths.
Proud to Have worked with
Collaborative Care
Catherine's work is based on the values of collaboration and co-creation with older adults. Her projects and training workshops celebrate a relational care model and always strive to centre the input of those with lived experience.
Spotlight:
Rural & Farming Communities
For the past six years, Catherine has been working with partners in the Canadian Prairies to deliver reminiscing and cognitive programming specifically tailored to the life experiences of older adults aging in place in rural areas and farming communities. She is currently working with post-secondary institutions in Saskatchewan on research related to program outcomes and is presenting internationally on the results.
Project Partners
A Unique Perspective
After years as a curator, educator and researcher in history museums and art galleries, Catherine shifted to work as a recreation specialist in memory care and assisted living. This has resulted in a unique skill set that blends high quality program design with a deeper understanding of typical and atypical aging populations. Read more about Catherine here.
Spotlight:
Faith Communities
With a grant from the United Church of Canada, Catherine led a local congregation to ask: "Can a church act as a hub of knowledge and a catalyst to inspire others to serve an increasing number of people in our community living with dementia?"
The resulting online resource onesmallseed.ca is a joyful collaboration with 15 experts from 5 countries over 8 Christian denominations. Together, we explored how to support dementia-inclusive communities, regardless of faith and welcoming to all.
Project Partners
Other workshops & project consulting
Inclusive Book Clubs
During her time as an Alzheimer Society Arctic Ambassador, Catherine started a dementia-inclusive book club featuring classic literature in adapted texts. Interested in knowing how to bring this innovative program to your space? Reach out to find out more!
Art Making & Collaborations
Catherine has co-curated a number of art installations together with people living in long term care. These thoughtful pieces resonate deeply with the public, many of whom are keen to know about this stage of life, but rarely see it interpreted by those experiencing it.
Collection Development
Libraries are reporting an increasing interest in books about dementia. There is no shortage of titles - but only a handful that really hit the mark. Catherine is happy to work with library collections specialists to create lists of the best texts on the market, including her favourites for children and families.
Spotlight:
Reminiscing Prompt Development
In 2020, Catherine conducted a pilot study of Reminiscing Prompts with over 120 professional care staff and recreation specialists around the world. The feedback was overwhelming:
100% of participants from 9 countries over 4 continents indicated they would happily use the prompts and engagement suggestions again.
Program Design & training for care staff
Honour Life Experiences
Selecting activities that positively affirm someone's life story is a unique opportunity with amazing rewards. Using a blend of social history skills and facilitator experience, Catherine works with your staff to help design spaces and programs that really resonate with older adults.
Discover New Ways to Connect
Trust is at the center of every care relationship. Empower care partners to find shared interests over which to connect, bond and grow...together. Contact Catherine to learn more about training webinars and 1:1 consulting.
