THE DANCE OF INTERACTION: AN EMBODIED APPROACH TO NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING FOR CAREGIVERS OF PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA

By Donna Newman-Bluestein with Meg H. Chang. 

This manual is designed to train people to communicate effectively in ways that truly center on individuals with dementia, especially those who have difficulty speaking or understanding words, such that they feel seen, heard, and valued. The manual provides experiential structures so that care partners aren’t simply told what to do, but can practice and reflect on the concepts of embodied care partnering. The Dance of Interaction prepares carers to respond intuitively to a person’s unspoken needs.

The manual may be used in conjunction with and in support of an intensive training program of the same name, The Dance of Interaction: An Embodied Approach to Nonverbal Communication Training for Caregivers of People with Dementia. Dance/movement therapists and educators, psychologically oriented dancers, somatic practitioners, and care providers with significant experience in both embodied practices and dementia, after undergoing the training, will be qualified to train others. Trainers may use the structures presented verbatim or adapt sequences and scripts to best suit the needs of trainers and trainees.

• Spiral-bound: 128 pages

• Self-published: www.danceforconnection.com (2017)

•  Language: English

•  ISBN-978-0-692-96837-6

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1 x 11 inches

•  Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds

Product Reviews

Dr. Dr. Heather Hill of Yarra Glen, Australia: 

“The revolutionary nature of this manual is that it brings to attention the embodied, relational nature of care, and offers some stepping stones towards changing the way we train for care.”

Dr. Michael Verde of Memory Bridge: 

“Newman-Bluestein and Chang’s The Dance of Interaction advances the impelling idea that our relationships with people with dementia begin and end with our bodies’ ways of being with each other. The authors’ clearly communicated vision of intimacy through movement and non-verbal attunement makes this book more than just another how-to guide in the field of dementia care. It is, rather, a way-to-be-together guide. It is a perfectly timely book that animates hope, heralding a way by which life can move through our bodies to a place that dementia can never reach.”