Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) Training - online via Zoom with Dr Helen Donovan

What is Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST)?

CST is an evidence-based group treatment for people with mild to moderate dementia. It involves 14 or more sessions of stimulating, themed activities, based around more complex principles including learning theory and person-centred care. CST can be extended into a longer-term treatment and can be offered to a range of clients including outpatients and people in residential or day care.

What does the training involve?

Training is led by a Clinical Psychologists with extensive experience in offering CST. Training is interactive, involving group exercises, role-play and video observation as well as some ‘teaching’.

Course Aim:

To give learners an overview of how to deliver Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST). CST is a brief evidence-based group treatment for people with dementia. This interactive course will include a background about CST and how it can be used, research overview and detailed presentation of the treatment, including DVD footage and role-play.

Learning Objectives:

• Reflect on some different perspectives of dementia
• Consider key psychosocial approaches for dementia
• Learn about how CST was designed and evaluated
• Be familiar with the 14 CST sessions, through session clips and role-play
• Understand how to apply the key principles to CST
• Develop a plan for running CST groups, which considers issues around implementation.

Training facilitator: Dr Helen Donovan

Dr Helen Donovan qualified in 1994 in Australia as a clinical psychologist, and has  worked in older people’s mental health in both Australia and the UK for  more than fifteen years. She has been the psychology lead for older  people in Bedfordshire mental health services since 2003. She became  involved with Cognitive Stimulation Therapy in 2006 after Aimee Spector  joined the Trust, and has been involved in CST groups, supervision,  training and research since that time. She was part of the SHIELD  research team, with Bedfordshire as one of the sites in the randomised  controlled trial of Maintenance Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. She has  provided many CST training workshops and conference presentations in the  UK and Australia.